Queer East: On the Road 2025

Founded in 2020 with the aim of elevating queer and Asian voices in the UK, Queer East has become one of the most important activities in the country’s cultural calendar. Following a record-breaking sixth edition in London this May, the organisation will commence its ambitious On the Road touring project this autumn, bringing some of the best work from this year’s programme to an ever-expanding roster of sites across the country.

Queer East exists to forge a space for bold, alternative, and multifaceted expressions of queerness, and to facilitate dialogue about the diverse experiences of Asian and LGBTQ+ communities, which form a vital part of the UK’s identity. This year’s On the Road will once again showcase a selection of festival highlights; new and rediscovered films that explore East and Southeast Asia’s ever-evolving queer landscape.

Highlights include Edhi Alice (2024), a sensitive documentary by Kim Ilrhan about two trans women in South Korea, Kubi (2023), Takeshi Kitano’s historical epic about gay samurai in feudal Japan, and Lilly Hu’s 1 Girl Infinite (2025), a vivid portrait of girlhood and teenage love in China. The line-up also features rediscovered gems such as Michio Okabe’s subversive underground film Crazy Love (Japan, 1968) and Lin Cheng’s bittersweet coming-of-age classic Murmur of Youth (Taiwan, 1997), as well as new releases including Jun Geng’s pitch-black comedy Bel Ami (China, 2024) and Petersen Vargas’ elegantly erotic Some Nights I Feel Like Walking (Philippines, 2024).

Alongside the film screenings, events including talks, conversations, workshops, and networking activities will be held in collaboration with an extensive array of local community partners.

Queer East: On The Road 2025 is currently scheduled for: Chester, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bradford, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Birmingham.*

With the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery in order to bring this project to more audiences across the UK.

*The outline below lists the films and cities that are currently confirmed for the tour. This will be regularly updated with details of venues, dates, and additional titles or events.

SCHEDULE

Leeds | Hyde Park Picture House

Edhi Alice
Tuesday 18 November, 18:00

My Sunshine
Wednesday 26 November, 18:00

Where Is My Love? + Incidental Journey
Sunday 30 November, 14:00

Edinburgh

Kubi
Wednesday 19 November, 20:00
Cameo Picturehouse

Bel Ami
Thursday 20 November, 20:15
Cameo Picturehouse

Batch ‘81
Friday 21 November, 20:45
Cameo Picturehouse

Crazy Love
Monday 24 November, 20:45
Cameo Picturehouse

Murmur of Youth
Wednesday 26 November, 17:20
Cameo Picturehouse

Where is My Love? + Incidental Journey
Tuesday 9 December, 20:15
Filmhouse

My Sunshine
Thursday 11 December, 18:15
Filmhouse

Sheffield

My Sunshine
Saturday 1 November, 18:00
Showroom

Murmur of Youth
Thursday 6 November, 18:00
Showroom

Bel Ami
Thursday 13 November, 18:00
Showroom

Looking for an Angel
Thursday 20 November, 18:00
Showroom

Homecomings
Wednesday 26 November, 18:30
Gut Level

Kubi
Saturday 29 November, 17:30
Showroom

Brighton

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking
Friday 21 November, 20:00
Duke’s at Komedia Picturehouse

Where Is My Love? + Incidental Journey
Saturday 22 November, 13:30
Duke’s at Komedia Picturehouse

My Sunshine
Sunday 23 November, 14:30
Duke’s at Komedia Picturehouse

Edhi Alice
Monday 24 November, 20:30
Duke’s at Komedia Picturehouse

Dancing In Your Wake
Wednesday 3 December, 18:30
Fabrica

Hearbeats and Hiccups
Thursday 4 December, 18:30
Fabrica

Birmingham | University of Birmingham

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking
Wednesday 26 November, 17:30

Where Is My Love? + Incidental Journey
Friday 28 November, 18:00

Bradford

We Are Here
Saturday 22 November, 11:00
Bradford Arts Centre

Kuch Sapney Apne
Friday 28 November, 19:00
Science and Media Museum

My Sunshine
Saturday 29 November, 14:30
Science and Media Museum

A Journey in Spring
Sunday 30 November, 13:30
Science and Media Museum

Liverpool | FACT

Where Is My Love? + Incidental Journey
Monday 1 December, 18:30

My Sunshine
Tuesday 2 December, 18:30

Manchester

1 Girl Infinite
Sunday 16 November, 15:30
Cultplex

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking
Monday 17 November, 18:15
HOME

Bel Ami
Saturday 22 November, 15:30
HOME

On Acts of Resistance and Remembrance
Tuesday 2 December, 18:00
esea contemporary

Nottingham

1 Girl Infinite
Thursday 6 November, 18:00
Broadway

A Sword, A Spectre, A Song
Tuesday 16 December, 18:30
Nottingham Contemporary

Chester | Storyhouse

1 Girl Infinite
Wednesday 8 October, 18:00

A Journey in Spring
Saturday 11 October, 15:30

My Sunshine
Sunday 19 October, 15:30

Edhi Alice
Saturday 25 October, 15:30

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking
Wednesday 29 October, 18:00

Glasgow

Rookie
Tuesday 28 October, 18:30
The Boardwalk

We are Here
Friday 31 October, 18:00
GMAC Film

Bristol

Edhi Alice
Saturday 1 November, 14:00
Arnolfini

Heartbeats and Hiccups
Saturday 1 November, 16:45
Arnolfini

Bel Ami
Monday 3 November, 20:00
Cube

Murmur of Youth
Tuesday 4 November, 20:00
Cube

Newcastle | Tyneside

Pierce
Sunday 16 November, 15:10

Bel Ami
Saturday 22 November, 14:40

Dates

28 Nov — 30 Nov

Past Event

Pictureville Cinema Bradford

17 Nov — 22 Nov

Past Event

HOME Manchester

18 Nov — 30 Nov

Past Event

Hyde Park Picture House

1 Nov — 29 Nov

Past Event

Showroom Sheffield

9 Dec — 11 Dec

Tickets available

Filmhouse Edinburgh

8 Oct — 29 Oct

Past Event

Storyhouse Chester

28 October 2025, 6:30 PM

Past Event

The Boardwalk Glasgow

31 October 2025, 6:00 PM

Past Event

GMAC Film

1 November 2025, 2:00 PM

Past Event

Arnolfini Bristol

16 November 2025, 3:00 PM

Past Event

Cultplex Manchester

Show All Dates

1 Girl Infinite

2025

Directed by
Lilly Hu

Running time
102 mins

Lilly Hu both directs and stars in this vivid portrait of girlhood, teenage love, and frustrated desire. Yin Jia and Tong Tong (Xuanyu Chen and Hu), have carved out a life together: shoplifting for food, joyously pelting oranges at cars, and sharing a bed. Within the walls of their small apartment, they are tied togeth...

A Journey in Spring

2023

Directed by
Tzu-Hui Peng, Ping-Wen Wang

Running time
90 mins

Khim-Hok is an elderly man who, suffering with a limp, has come to depend on his wife Siu-Tuan over the years. They live in an old house on the urban fringes of Taipei, and while their lifestyle is precarious, they have established a comfortable daily routine, despite their tendency to bicker. Absent from their life, h...

My Sunshine

2024

Directed by
Hiroshi Okuyama

Running time
90 mins

On a small Japanese island, life revolves around the changing seasons. Winter is time for ice hockey at school, but the young Takuya isn’t too thrilled about it. His real interest lies in Sakura, a figure skater from Tokyo and a rising star for whom he starts to develop a genuine fascination. Coach and former champio...

Edhi Alice

2024

Directed by
Ilrhan Kim

Running time
130 mins

In Edhi Alice, director and queer activist Ilrhan Kim interrogates how documentaries about trans communities are made: the creative decisions, relationships, and ethical questions involved. The subject of the documentary is Edhi, who works as a counsellor for LGBTQ+ teens in Seoul, and has decided to undertake gender r...

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

2024

Directed by
Petersen Vargas

Running time
102 mins

Following the death of his boyfriend, the teenage Zion runs away from home and finds himself at a Manila bus terminal one night. Here, he meets a group of street hustlers including Uno, whose casual sensuality stirs hidden feelings in Zion. While some of the group are suspicious of Zion, they nonetheless take him under...

Where is My Love?

1996

Directed by
Jo-Fei Chen

Running time
56 mins

Taipei in the 1990s: Ko is a young gay writer who has written a story about his sexuality, and is encouraged by his mentor to enter it into a prestigious writing competition. But that would mean publicly revealing his homosexuality, so Ko must decide whether or not to remain in the closet. Meanwhile, Ko’s working hab...

Incidental Journey

2001

Directed by
Jo-Fei Chen

Running time
61 mins

After breaking up with her girlfriend, student Ching goes on a road trip around Taiwan. On the island’s east coast, she encounters hitchhiker Hsiang, an older, solitary artist. Hsiang takes Ching to visit her friend Ji, who lives on a peaceful rural farm with her husband. Here, Ching struggles to find inner peace, wh...

We Are Here

2015

Directed by
Zhao Jing, Shi Tou

Running time
58 mins

This documentary from LGBT activists Zhao Jing and Shi Tou revisits the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, which was hosted in Beijing. The conference was attended by 300 lesbian women from around the world, whose organisers sought to facilitate queer participation, visibility, and recognition in the...

Rookie

2023

Directed by
Samantha Lee

Running time
94 mins

Ace is a tall, awkward teenager who moves to an all-girls Catholic high school in the Philippines. The volleyball coach spots Ace on her first day, and invites her to try out for the team. She is initially no good at the sport and socially ostracised, but things begin to change when she falls for the highly motivated t...

Bel Ami

2024

Directed by
Jun Geng

Running time
116 mins

In a sleepy town in China, a middle-aged man is unwilling to endure a stagnant existence, and experiencing true love, decides to come out of the closet. Meanwhile, a lesbian couple go in search of a gay man, in order to get married and have a child. Behind these fiery love stories lies an absurd drama about identity po...

Pierce

2024

Directed by
Nelicia Low

Running time
107 mins

In this tense, slow-burn thriller, Zi-Jie is a young Taiwanese fencer who reconnects with his estranged older brother Zi-Han, who is released from juvenile prison after seven years. Zi-Han killed an opponent during a fencing competition but insists that it was an accident and he is innocent of murder. Wanting to believ...