After sustained harassment from authorities, Beijing queer film festival cancelled, ending public LGBTQ+ forum

Organisers announce cancellation

In a statement posted on Instagram late Thursday, organisers said Love Queer Film Week would not go ahead. They apologised to those who had planned to participate or were looking forward to the event.

A longstanding public forum

A group of Peking University students founded the festival in 2001. It grew into the only film festival in mainland China to provide a public forum for films and discussions exploring LGBTQ+ issues.

The event remained popular despite mounting pressure. Several international filmmakers whose work had been selected travelled to China, and the festival received 200 volunteer applications last year, four times the number in 2024.

Pressure on independent events

Beijing Independent Film Festival, described as China’s most prominent independent film festival, was shut down in 2014. Authorities detained its founders and cut the venue’s electricity supply. Last year, an independent Chinese film festival planned for New York was cancelled after harassment from Chinese authorities. The episode raised concerns about transnational repression.

Impact on queer communities

One assessment said authorities had increased pressure on what remained of China’s civil society, as well as LGBTQ+ communities and independent filmmakers. It described queer film festivals as facing overlapping pressures. Bao said the shutdown of Love Queer Cinema Week would have a “chilling affect” on the Chinese queer community.