Gay filmmaker, writer, activist, Fan Popo presents two films, Mama Rainbow (2012) and New Beijing, New Marriage (2009), documenting LGBT lives and perspectives in China. Join us at the Ran Tea House in Brooklyn for the screening and a discussion with the filmmaker.

About the films:
Mama Rainbow (80 min, 2012)
For Chinese parents, finding out that their kid is gay usually presents a major tragedy, with the big majority utterly unable to accept the homosexuality of their son or daughter. However, during recent years a pioneer generation of Chinese parents have been stepping up and speaking out on their love for their gay kids. This documentary features 6 mothers from all over China, who talk openly and freely about their experiences with their homosexual children. With their love, they are giving a whole new definition to Chinese-style family bonds.

New Beijing, New Marriage (18 min, 2009)
On February 14, 2009, Valentine’s Day, a gay couple and a lesbian couple chose to have their wedding photos taken on Qianmen Street in Beijing–a busy, renovated shopping and tourist spot famous for its century-old old architecture. On this beautiful Spring Day in Beijing, the local residents and tourists from all over the country strolling along Qianmen Street ran into this lovely, yet unconventional wedding scene. Did they understand what was going on? Did the branded ‘New Beijing’ truly bring about ‘new concepts’ of love and marriage? The event attracted wide media coverage and public attention and became an important milestone in the history of China’s LGBT movement.

Fan Popo is a gay film maker, writer, and activist, who also organizes China Queer Film Festival Tour and promotes independent filmmaking in queer community in China. His documentaries have visited many international film festivals.

This event is organized by ITS (Institute for Tongzhi Studies), an academic research and exchange program based in the City University of New York led by Chinese speaking educators and researchers. As a joint project run by the Center for Women and Society and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, the Institute for Tongzhi Studies (Tongzhi, the literal Chinese translation of comrade, is now widely used to refer to homosexuality) aspires to encourage discussions related to issues of gender, sexuality, and sexual health. Through education, research, and exchange, ITS coordinates with institutions with shared values in order to build a body of scholarly works to further the study of gender and sexuality in Chinese societies.

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