Following the success of its London edition this April, Queer East embarks on a three-month nationwide tour, bringing a selection of festival highlights to big screens across the country, along with Q&As, conversations, and networking events.
This year’s Queer East: On the Road runs from September to December and features over ten films from the festival’s 2024 programme. Highlights include Bye Bye Love (Japan, 1974) by Isao Fujisawa, a rediscovered gem that offers a glimpse into radical queer filmmaking in 1970s Japan, and The River, by acclaimed slow cinema maestro Tsai Ming-Liang. The line-up also includes several films recently premiered in the UK by Queer East: I Am What I Am (Japan, 2022), The Missing (Philippines, 2022), A Song Sung Blue (China, 2023), and Love Bound (UK, 2024).
Now in its fifth year, Queer East has become one of the most recognised platforms for boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema and moving image work about East and Southeast Asian queer communities. With its most ambitious and largest-scale programme ever, this year’s On the Road reaffirms the organisation’s commitment to diversifying the cultural landscape in the UK, nurturing dialogue on the multifaceted understandings of what it means to be Asian and queer today.
On the Road will visit 15 cities, including Exeter, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Edinburgh, Brighton, Cambridge, Bradford, Kent, and Sheffield.
SCHEDULE
Note: The outline below lists the films that are currently confirmed for the tour. This will be regularly updated with details of venues, dates, and additional titles.
Exeter | Phoenix Cinema
The River
Wednesday 25 September, 20:15
The Last Year of Darkness
Saturday 28 September, 17:30
I Am What I Am
Sunday 6 October, 14:00
Bristol | Cube Cinema
The River
Sunday 29 September, 18:00
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Monday 30 September, 20:00
Glasgow | CCA Glasgow
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Thursday 10 October, 18:00
With an introduction from Xuanlin Tham
Presented in partnership with Scottish Queer International Film Festival
Edinburgh | Cameo Picturehouse
The Last Year of Darkness
Thursday 17 October, 20:30
The River
Friday 18 October, 18:30
Love Bound + Director Q&A
Saturday 19 October, 16:00
With a post-screening Q&A with the director Shanshan Chen, and protagonist Qiuyan Chen, moderated by Xuanlin Tham
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Sunday 20 October, 18:00
With an introduction from Xuanlin Tham
Short Form: Welcome to Neverland
Monday 21 October, 18:15
Brighton | Duke’s at Komedia
A Song Sung Blue
Tuesday 29 October, 20:45
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Wednesday 30 October, 18:00
The Last Year of Darkness
Friday 1 November, 18:00
Short Form: Shades of Faith + Director Q&A
Saturday 2 November, 15:00
Presented in partnership with the Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex.
Short Form: Let the Waves Carry You
Saturday 2 November, 17:15
Presented in partnership with the Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex.
Cambridge | Arts Picturehouse
I Am What I Am
Monday October 28, 16:25
Wednesday October 30, 13:20
Presented in partnership with Cambridge Film Festival
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Wednesday 6 November, 18:15
Asog
Friday 8 November, 18:00
The River
Sunday 10 November, 17:30
Bradford | Pictureville Cinema, National Science and Media Museum
Asog
Friday 8 November, 19:30
The River
Saturday 9 November, 20:00
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Sunday 10 November, 18:15
Liverpool | FACT Liverpool
Love Bound + Director Q&A
Tuesday 12 November, 19:00
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Wednesday 13 November, 19:00
Leeds | Hyde Park Picture House
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Sunday 27 October, 14:30
The River
Sunday 17 November, 14:00
The Last Year of Darkness
Tuesday 19 November, 18:00
Belfast | Queen’s Film Theatre
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Tuesday 19 November, 18:00
Presented in collaboration with Outburst Queer Arts Festival and Normal Cinema Club
Sheffield | Showroom
Love Bound + Director Q&A
Saturday 9 November, 18:00
Asog
Thursday 14 November, 18:00
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Saturday 16 November, 18:00
The River
Thursday 21 November, 18:00
Nottingham | Broadway Cinema
Love Bound + Director Q&A
Monday 18 November, 18:30
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Wednesday 20 November, 18:30
Newcastle | Tyneside Cinema
The River
Tuesday 19 November, 20:15
The Last Year of Darkness
Tuesday 26 November, 20:00
Manchester | esea contemporary
Short Form: Silence Will Not Protect You + Director Q&A
Thursday 28 November, 18:00
Canterbury | University of Kent
Love Bound + Director Q&A
Monday 25 November, 18:00
Lupino Screening Room
The River
Wednesday 27 November, 20:00
Gulbenkian Arts Centre
Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary)
Monday 2 December, 18:00
Lupino Screening Room
