Translating for change: Anglophone queer cinema and the Chinese LGBT+ movement

This project analyses the use of Anglophone (North American, British, Australasian) queer cinema as a means of developing LGBT+ culture and rights in China. Despite the plethora of research on this cinema (e.g. Aaron 2004, Griffiths 2006, Rich 2013, Juett and Jones 2010) and global queer cinema (e.g. Schoonover and Galt 2016, Pecic 2016), there is little research on the translation of Anglophone queer films and their interactions with regional LGBT+ movements. Little or no research has studied how the consumption of these films in translation has been shaped by changing media ecologies.

Translating for Change fills this gap by investigating the relationship between Anglophone queer cinema and Chinese popular culture in the wider context of the Chinese LGBT+ rights movement. Although homosexuality was removed from the list of mental disorders in 2001 by China's Ministry of Health, LGBT+ people continue to suffer discrimination and harassment. Media portraying homosexual and transgender topics have been strictly censored, limiting public discussion of sexual and gender identity in China (e.g. "General Rules of Internet Audiovisual Program Content Censorship"; China Netcasting Services Association 2017). This censorship has suppressed the development of domestic queer cinema, but stimulates the translation and consumption of international queer cinema (especially Anglophone) in China.

Recent work, mainly in sociology and gender studies, has analysed Chinese LGBT+ activism involving films, from independent queer filmmaking (e.g. Chao 2010) to the emergent queer media culture in China (e.g. Engebretsen, Schroeder and Bao 2015). Rather than focusing on the media representation of Chinese LGBT+ communities, this project explores how the unofficial translation and dissemination of Anglophone queer films participate in and shape the development of the LGBT+ rights movement and culture in China.

Collaborating with Aibai, a non-profit Chinese organization aiming at promoting equal rights for the LGBT+ community, QAFONE and Jihua Network, two of the most influential Chinese LGBT+ subtitling groups, this project will investigate the translation and discussion of Anglophone LGBT+ films in China and the screening of these translated films in important Chinese queer film events (e.g. Shanghai Pride film festival, Shanghai Queer Festival, Beijing Queer Film Festival, China Queer Independent Film Tour) as well as social events organized by Chinese LGBT+ organizations.

Our research will examine the key players involved in the translation and dissemination of Anglophone queer films and broaden existing research on transnational connections between Anglophone and Chinese LGBT+ movements. We will engage local Chinese LGBT+ communities and disseminate research findings through three seminars organized in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as well as hosting an exhibition and an international conference on queer cinema and international LGBT+ movements, bringing together UK and international academics, translators and representatives from international LGBT+ organizations. A report (in Chinese and English) will also be produced on the Chinese translation of international (especially Anglophone) queer cinema.

This project will deepen our understanding of the continuity and rupture between global and local queer cinematic culture and reveal the trends and complexities in the circulation of queer-related knowledge via film. Our research will provide valuable information about how new digital media technologies enable new possibilities and fora for Chinese queer culture. It will facilitate connections and dialogues among academics, professionals, translators and activists, and intervene in current debates about world queer cinema and global queer politics. Its focus on the intersection between queer cinematic culture and fan translation will offer a unique perspective on studies of digitalized LGBT+ politics.

Through researching the use of translated Anglophone queer cinema in China, the project offers impact in four areas:

1. The Chinese film market has always been difficult to enter for international film companies due to China's strict quota system for imported film (only 34 foreign films per year). There is no opportunity for foreign queer films to be distributed in Chinese mainstream cinemas due to the government's censorship of LGBT+ content. This research will make Anglophone LGBT+ filmmakers and distributors (e.g. Andrew Haigh, Isaac Julien, Lindsey Dryden, Jessica Devaney and members from Queer Producers Collective) more aware of the wider reception of their work, help them explore Chinese collaborations (e.g. non-profit subtitling) for promoting/screening their previous and future works, and engage multicultural UK audiences and international web-based audiences (e.g. information sites, recorded interviews, posters and other downloadable materials, social media campaigns).

2. Through the analysis of how subtitled Anglophone films have been used in queer film festivals in China to encourage local discussion and connect with international LGBT+ culture, the project will impact activists (e.g. Wu Man, Wei Jiankang, Fan Popo, Cui Zi'en) in China, the UK and around the world (e.g. Jason Barker, Tricia Tuttle and Brian Robinson) by offering examples of practice that can inspire and guide future festival programming and outreach events. LGBT+ organisations in China (e.g. Beijing LGBT Centre, Shanghai NVAI, PFLAG China, and our project partners, Aibai, QAFONE and Jihua), stand to benefit directly from such information in their development of LGBT+ events in China (see our partners' support letters). International LGBT+ organisations, especially UK film festival organisers (e.g. Stonewall, LGBT Consortium UK, BFI Flare, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest, Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival and Poutfest), will be able to adapt and use our findings in diversifying and internationalizing events through translated foreign-language films.

3.Recently, several Chinese LGBT+ online communities and apps (e.g. Yilutongxing in Tianya.cn, Zank, jihuawang.net), including subtitling groups, have been closed down due to strengthening of censorship in China. A lot of important information regarding these communities and the influence of Anglophone queer films on China's LGBT+ movement is going to be lost. In light of this, our research is urgent and of crucial importance. Although the information that our research provide is China-specific, knowledge of these subtitling practices will also affect the practices of other online subtitling groups elsewhere in the world (in Italy, South Korea and Vietnam, among other nations) through offering examples of good practice for organization of groups, dissemination of materials and engaging audiences in debate.

4. The project's analysis of the way in which imported cinema interacts with local, Chinese queer knowledges and practices will benefit international and Chinese LGBT+ organizations (e.g. Stonewall, Aibai, etc) by demonstrating ways in which transnational activism can be sensitive to local issues and cultures. It will affect their practice by highlighting the negotiation at the heart of any form of activism and the need to respect existing cultural forms, thus enhancing campaigns through the creation of internationally inclusive materials or through the creation of materials that can be targeted to specific communities. Furthermore, the research will bring to light often overlooked practices in China that will influence international LGBT+ communities through offering alternative, non-hegemonic practices that challenge forms of homonormativity.