We are thrilled to announce the publication of ten insightful essays penned by the five talented participants of the Queer East Emerging Critics Project 2024. This initiative, which ran as part of the Queer East Festival in April, aims to foster a strong creative voice for aspiring film critics, offering fresh perspectives on queer cinema criticism.
Guided by industry professionals Phuong Le, Ian Wang, and Cici Peng, the selected participants have crafted ten essays that delve into various aspects of queer cinema, showcasing their understanding of the nuances within queer film narratives. Their essays explore a wide range of topics, from the portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters to the cultural and social implications of queer storytelling in cinema.
These ten pieces are now published online here and available through a digital zine, which can be downloaded here.
The critics selected to attend the project this year are:
Harry Bayley
I’m a queer artist, writer, critic and curator living and working in North London. My overarching goal in my work is to question the form of film and film criticism to better understand our changing relationship with the screen. My practice centres on experimental film, moving image art, documentary film, decolonial thought and minor cinema.
IG: htfilmt
Emily Jisoo Bowles
Emily Jisoo Bowles is a London-based writer, translator (Korean-English), and occasional film programmer. Their main interest is reading Korean films through a critical and historical lens, such as their video essay work which analyses The Handmaiden (2016) through a post-colonial framework.
IG: emilyjisoob
Frey Kwa Hawking
Frey Kwa Hawking is a critic, dramaturg and general arts worker/dogsbody. He is from Bristol and lives in London. Theatre writing can be found in Exeunt Magazine, The Stage and WhatsOnStage. He likes David Berman, the witch puppet from ‘The Pogles’, and jokes about wasians.
IG & X: @absentobject
Cindy Ziyun Huang
Cindy Ziyun Huang is a London-based writer, editor and translator. Her writings about art have been published by art magazines including ArtReview. Her creative writings can be found in literary magazines such as Sine Theta Magazine and Tiny Molecules. She co-edits Qilu Criticism, an independent online forum formed in 2021 to expand spaces for critical discussions on contemporary art in Chinese.
IG: @cindaymorning
Shini Meyer Wang
Shini Meyer Wang is a half Chinese, half British writer, poet and dancer from Houston, Texas. They read English at the University of Texas at Austin and Film Aesthetics at Oxford. Their research looks at transnational and intercultural cinema and the representation of reality in social documentaries.
IG: shinsta28
About our mentors:
Phuong Le
Phuong Le is a Vietnamese film critic based in London. Her writing can be found in The Guardian, Sight & Sound, and other publications. She is also a regular contributor to the Free Thinking programme on BBC Radio 3.
IG & X: phuonghhle
Ian Wang
Ian Wang is a critic based in London. His writing has appeared in Sight & Sound, The Baffler, ArtReview, Tribune and other publications. His video essay Swimming, Dancing appeared at the Asian Film Archive in 2023.
IG & X: @iantwang
Cici Peng
Cici Peng is a film journalist and film programmer based in London. She has written for British GQ, LWLies, Dazed & Confused, i-D, and led and edited an editorial project for gal-dem. She has programmed screenings and events at the BFI, ICA, and the Barbican among others. She is a part of Sine Screen, a film collective dedicated to highlighting films from ESEA filmmakers.
IG: icy_seashells / X: @CiciPeng_