Beijing Queer film festival cancelled after harassment from authorities
www.theguardian.com
Forums for discussion of feminist and LGBTQ+ views face growing intolerance from Chinese state, say experts

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/61143788

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Chinese Police had increased pressure on the festival through repeated phone calls in recent weeks, it is understood.

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The Chinese authorities have grown increasingly intolerant of open discussion of feminist or LGBTQ+ issues. Film festivals in particular attract particular scrutiny because they provide an opportunity to platform narratives that sit outside the Communist party’s worldview.

Beijing Independent film festival, China’s most prominent independent film festival, was closed down in 2014 after the authorities detained the founders and shut off the electricity supply to the venue. Last year, an independent Chinese film festival that was due to be held in New York was cancelled after harassment from the Chinese authorities, an incident which raised concern about transnational repression.

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Hongwei Bao, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of St Andrews who focuses on LGBT issues, said that the festival was “a beacon for LGBT resilience” in China.

“The shutdown of the Love Queer Cinema Week has a chilling affect on the Chinese queer community,” Bao said.

In June this year, screenings of films with LGBTQ+ themes that were scheduled to be held in Beijing during Pride month at the Institut Français, a French cultural centre, were cancelled because of police harassment.

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Despite the increased pressure, Beijing Queer film festival remains a popular event. Several international film-makers whose work had been selected for the festival had travelled to China to participate. Last year, the festival received 200 volunteer applications, four times the number received in 2024.

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  • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
    41·
    2 days ago

    Here’s the rhetorical technique used to move the goalposts:

    A comment predicting general avoidance of a certain cognitive dissonance in a community.

    A reply then states, here I am, talking about it, thus you are wrong.

    The trick is a categorical blurring by shifting the discussion about general behaviour of a group to that of one individual who implies that they are a sufficient representative of that community to settle the argument.

    C’mon, they were talking about the tenor of conversation in an echo chamber. Pay attention.

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
      34·
      2 days ago

      comment predicting general avoidance of a certain cognitive dissonance in a community.

      Aka making an unsupported assumption.

      reply then states, here I am, talking about it, thus you are wrong.

      The important distinction is that I am willing to address the validity of accusation of hypocrisy from my own perspective. I didn’t just state here I am therefore you are wrong. I already made a general statement on this thread, and invited a person to explain their reasoning.

      trick is a categorical blurring by shifting the discussion about general behaviour of a group

      The perceived behaviour of a group described by an echo chamber*

      sufficient representative of that community to settle the argument.

      I can only give my perspective and the anecdotal accounts of what I have witnessed while engaging with the group. Just as they can only give their perspective and anecdotal accounts of their interactions. The difference is that I am willing to discuss my perspective while they have only relied on anecdotes.

      tenor of conversation in an echo chamber

      Can’t tell if you are being self aware and acknowledging your participation in an echo chamber or making an accusation…