Volunteers promote gay movies at The Boat on Beijing's Liangmahe Road. [China Daily/Feng Yongbin]

Two Saturdays ago, a modest crowd gathered at The Boat on Beijing's Liangmahe road because they wanted to watch queer films. Not an easy thing to do in China says the screening's organizer, Xiao Gang, of China Queer Film Talk (CQFT), but through their efforts and those of others, this taboo is starting to change.

"Many people don't really have a chance to see Chinese queer films," said Xiao. "It's hard to get them online."

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And while several local LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) groups try to hold monthly film screenings, this one goes on tour throughout China and will be in Shanghai and Suzhou next month. A native of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Xiao, like many of those responsible for organizing or in attendance that day, came to Beijing from other parts of China. Disseminating support and knowledge of queer culture to those in areas less likely to receive it, is of paramount importance. One way he does this is through the CQFT screenings; the other is through his online LGBT talk show called Queer Comrades.

Xu Bin, founder of Common Language, which is a Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender group for women in Beijing, who is also closely involved with organizing the CQFT screenings, said that in many areas the discussion of the LGBT community comes hand-in-hand with AIDS/HIV education alone. This fuels the stigma.

But even in a place like Beijing where people tend to be more accepting of queer culture, and according to Xu Bin, boasts about a dozen active LGBT groups, getting the public to come is a difficult matter.

"Most people will go to a gay club, but it's a closet," said Xiao in response to the 30 people in attendance. "People just go from one closet to another closet. You need more courage to go to a cultural event. Here," he says, gesturing to the clusters of people in the room, "you're out."

The screening that day was of "Mei Mei," a documentary film following the life of a Beijing drag queen in 2004. Mei Mei, who was invited to the screening and stayed to answer audience questions, is a testament to the growing size of the LGBT, or queer community, outing themselves not only to the world, but to each other.

Han, a personable 20 year-old student from the Renmin University of China, told METRO he came to the CQFT event in order to meet interesting people before exposing a guilty look on his face. "And potential partners," he said, before erupting into laughter.

"I only realized I was gay two years ago," Han told METRO. "For a lot of Chinese, they are bisexual because they feel pressure to have a family. So they hide themselves from society. I chose to come out. Well, I'm out to 80 percent of my friends. Three of my roommates treat me differently, but it doesn't bother me."

Queer film festival promotes social acceptance

For young people coming to terms with their sexuality, the films provide an important source of information, not just on queer culture, but on the growing acceptance in today's society. Han said he was shocked that Mei Mei's family accepted her.

"If my parents knew, they wouldn't let me into the house, I think," Han said.

For Ma Qiang, a 30 year-old independent dance director in Beijing and another attendee at the screening, his sexual identity and the social pressure to have a family are issues he struggles with. When he spoke to METRO, he admitted, "I have never attended an event like this before."

Luck Zhao, chief editor of GaySpot magazine who worked as a volunteer for the event, believes gay movies are an enormous part of a culture. "What we are doing is promoting the culture," he explained. "I hope one day, we can put our movies on the big screen and let more people know about queer people here." He pauses for a moment and then adds, "But there is still a long way to go in China."

Identifying yourself as a queer person in China, which Xiao Gang defines as "not just being about gays and lesbians but includes all sex and gender minorities," is about as difficult as getting queer-themed films successfully screened. While homosexuality was first legalized in China in 1997, China's psychiatric association only removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 2001.

This replaced the 1989 edition that defined homosexuality as a "psychiatric disorder of sexuality."

As such, holding a queer film festival is no light achievement, especially considering the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in 2001 and the Gay Cultural Festival in 2005, both of which were shut down. The Beijing Queer Film Festival 2009 made headlines this year precisely because it was not. Many feel the choice to hold it in the Songzhuang art district, an area far outside the city and therefore low-key, was the real reason.

What absolves this particular event from similar problems?

"We don't call it a festival," explains Xiao Gang with a smile. "We keep it small."

CQFT will be holding their final screening of queer-themed Chinese films this coming Saturday, starting at 3 pm.

This screening will feature three films. The first, titled Queer China, Comrade China, is a feature-length documentary following the development of the LGBT community in China since the late 1970s, and will be followed by two short films about queer relationships in China.

The films' directors will answer questions in a question-and-answer session after the films. Attendance is 30 yuan, but includes a free drink. Films and T-shirts are available for purchase.