Program
Diwata
Visual Art
Carl Sagan writes, “If you wish to make apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.” And so we created mythology, interwoven narratives that seek to explain how things came to be. The Filipino anthropologist F.
Twinkling Fortress
Visual Art
Twinkling Fortress extends the collaborative work between Khairullah Rahim and Lunar Lucah since they last presented 'Intimate Apparitions (Sightings)' at the 6th Singapore Biennale: Every Step in the Right Direction (2019) where Lunar Lucah was featured with head dresses created by Khairullah Rahim using ubiquitous everyday household objects.
Liku: Off and On Stage
Film
Liku: Off and On Stages delves into the queer tradition of Balinese performing arts through an in-depth research about the character, ‘Liku’. The short documentary film and archive on the website is an initial step in a project that we will continue working on.
home(un)bound: A Southeast Asia Digital Drag Fest
| Saturday, 13 March 2021 08:00:00 PM
A digital drag show from our homes to yours, featuring drag artists from all over Southeast Asia! As many people in the region navigate confinement amidst the pandemic, we explore how the diversity of our gender identities and expressions have been confined into strict binaries, and how drag as a queer art form allows us to break out of these.
Lonesome
Film
Lonesome is an LGBTQ+ voicemail documentary that features stories of isolation and marginalisation experienced by the diverse Malaysian LGBTQ+ community.
Lovewins
Visual Art
Lovewins is a collection of artwork made through mixed techniques of spray painting stencils of queer and human rights quotes. The artist, 100perhuman, started their collection as their final thesis. In 2019, they collaborated with Chiang Mai Pride 2019 and let people who participate in the pride parade choose their quotes on stencil or spray paint on their clothes.
The Book of Sainted Aunts: The Illustrated Portraits of Mildly Martyred Sinners-Turned-Saints Since Queerdom Come
Literary Work
[obsolete] An “aunt” is slang for middle-aged and elderly gay men or lesbian women (who were often mentors taking on protective roles for younger queers), reclaimed from the original association with an old madam who runs a prostitution brothel.
Opening Night
| Saturday, 13 February 2021 08:00:00 PM
This kick-off event for SEAQCF 2021 will feature opening remarks from the festival advisory board, ASC and Voice; solidarity messages from allies in the diplomatic community; and the launch of Versus' song, 'Sundown'.
A/PART: An Anthology of Queer Southeast Asian Poetry in the Pandemic
Literary Work
A/PART gathers the multivalent and polyphonic voices of queer Southeast Asian poets who have experienced conditions and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It considers how we have been affected and transformed, creating a space for poems that reflect our diverse experiences during these troubled times.
Shh...Diam! Fake Live Performance
Musical Performance | Friday, 5 March 2021 07:00:00 PM
This pre-recorded performance marks the debut of the song 'Aku Hanya Insan Biasa yang Tak Kinki', written especially for this event. The song is about a person who feels that they do not belong in the world of online dating because they have no kinks, hence the theme of belonging. Shh...Diam! is a Malaysian queercore, genre-bending and gender-bending band. We love you.
Be Me
Literary Work
This anthology of short fiction features South East Asian writers depicting the place of LGBTQIA+ identities within our societies as validated by pre-colonial allusions, thereby asserting that homophobia and transphobia are colonial impositions used to weaken pillars within our community.
Conversation with Queer Visual Artists and Curators
| Wednesday, 10 March 2021 07:00:00 PM
A conversation with queer visual artists and curators Viet Anh Nguyen (Queerator, Vietnam), Jose Ardivilla (Agony/Ecstasy, Philippines), Khairullah Rahim (Twinkling Fortress, Singapore) and Ram Botero (Diwata, Philippines). Hosted by Ng Yi-Sheng.
To Stride with Pride: A Human Rights Movement in Thailand
Film
"To Stride with Pride: A Human Rights Movement in Thailand" is an 18-minute video produced by civil journalist and documentarian, Jeffrey Warner (with linguistic support from Tanyarat Promburom), that informs about brave people who are striving toward attaining civic equity and societal equality. This is in a country where social activism is largely forbidden and can be quite dangerous.
My Voice, My Story in Cambodia
Film
Cambodia remains to be a conservative society. Social and cultural norms have controlled LGBTIQ lives. In this short documentary, CamASEAN, a youth organization, harnessed the power of visual and performing arts in changing minds and hearts of villagers across the country.
Agony/Ecstasy
Visual Art
Agony/Ecstasy is an animation piece of disparate moments intimated by the Spanish Baroque flourishes. Baroque is not simply an epoch or an aesthetic style but an interlocking system of domination and control that seeks to slither itself into whichever colony it lands on. Thus, latching itself to the minds and bodies of its subject natives.
Hello, My Name Is Tamarra
Performance Art | Saturday, 20 February 2021 11:00:00 AM
Whenever I say, "Hello, my name is Tamarra!" the question I often get is, "is that your real name?" Dissatisfied with the answer I give, they follow up with "are you male or female?" and "have you changed your sex?", which often continue to questions about my sexual orientation. Whether they are curious or it’s just as a joke, this is obviously very disturbing.
PagkabuhiXPagpamatuk
| Saturday, 6 March 2021 07:00:00 PM
PagkabuhiXPagpamatuk, which means 'BeingXResistance', is a queer cultural festival showcasing different performances of the lived experience and continuing resistance of queer Ilonggos in Western Visayas. The event will also feature the book launch of 'Pagsulat Duag: Queer Youth Narratives in Panay'.
Khmer Trans Traditional Dancing
Dance
This is a pre-recorded performance of Transgender Khmer Traditional Dancing featuring five lesbians and transgender people.
The "Blessing Dance" is performed as an act of blessing the audiences for good luck. It is traditionally used for event openings, especially cultural festival events.
I Laugh ASEAN
Comedy Show | Saturday, 27 February 2021 08:00:00 PM
A queer comedy showcase featuring comedians from ASEAN countries who represent a diverse range of sexualities and gender identities, I Laugh ASEAN will be a melting pot of comedic expressions that strive to break queer stereotypes, making room for the voice of LGBTIQ comedians to be heard across ASEAN.
Line-up:
Host : Brendan Goh 🇲🇾
Headliner : Sam See 🇸🇬
Invisible ไร้ / light / rise / rights
Film
This film tells the stories of Thai queer activists and people who are fighting oppression. These ""invisible"" people are rising up to demand for the rights and dignity that all human beings deserve. Queer activists are telling these stories because gender justice cannot exist without democracy.
Echoes from our past: 3 digital exhibitions from the Queer Indonesia Archive
Digital Exhibit
Indonesia is facing a time when the lived experiences and narratives of queer* people are being challenged, erased, and delegitimized in the national collective memory. The echoes of our collective past continue to fade whilst the institutions built to preserve them continue to ignore and erase us.
Return To Sender
Film
A young mail-boy accidentally reads a letter that has been returned to its sender multiple times, and embarks on a mission to make sure the letter is read as it was meant to.
Filmmakers' Table
| Saturday, 20 February 2021 07:00:00 PM
A conversation with queer filmmakers on the role of films in queering collective memory in Southeast Asia. Guest speakers: Cha Roque (My Mamily, Philippines), Anthony Chong (Deaf LGBTIQ, Malaysia), Marie Tayag (Wa, Nan, Philippines), Justice Khor (Lonesome and Malaysians Read LGBT Stories, Malaysia), and Ye Linn Htet (To Be 'Me', Myanmar). Hosted by Mikee Inton-Campbell.
Thai Queer Movements
| Friday, 12 March 2021 07:00:00 PM
A conversation about Thai queer movements and activism led by Queer Riot.
Watch it live on Feb 28, 7:30 p.m. GMT+8 here: http://bit.ly/ThaiQMovements
It will also be livestreamed on ASC's FB page.
VERSUS: QUEEN OF THE CITY
Musical Performance | Friday, 19 February 2021 07:00:00 PM
VERSUS: QUEEN OF THE CITY is my introduction to the world as to why I am VERSUS, the Queen Of The City. It is a short film/live concert pre-recorded video extravaganza that can be watched anywhere you go: VERSUS IS FOUND.
Watch it live on Feb 19, 7:00 p.m. GMT+8 here
Pagsulat Duag
Literary Work
Pagsulat Duag was born out of the lack of narratives written by LGBTI youth in the city and province of Iloilo. The Iloilo Pride Team, a network of LGBT advocates and organizations, partnered with Hubon Manunulat, an organization of writers in Western Visayas that advocates reading and writing in the Panayanon languages of Aklanon, Hiligaynon, and Kinaray-a.
thenational.api: Journeying Between The Lines
| Sunday, 28 February 2021 01:00:00 PM
thenational.api is only one part of F9 – Fine's efforts to explore the nuances of being a queer migrant. Our historical fiction is by no means an endpoint. It is the start of a journey. A journey in which our stories are heard and validated.
My Mamily
Film
My Mamily is a short animated film about the struggles and triumphs of a lesbian family as seen through the eyes of a child. It is a reflection of how children are born non-judgmental and how adults, schools, and other institutions are responsible for raising children who are accepting of difference.
Wa, Nan
Film
Wa, Nan is a 20-minute comedy-drama travel film about a senior citizen transgender who longs to join a beauty contest makes an unlikely connection with an aspiring beauty queen, the two go on an escapade in search of their dreams.
A/PART Poetry Reading
| Saturday, 6 March 2021 11:00:00 AM
A reading of poems included in A/PART: An Anthology of Queer Southeast Asian Poetry in the Pandemic. The reading will be hosted by the anthology editor Rodrigo Dela Peña, Jr. and will feature poets from all over the region, including Aeoald Xerne Beuel, Andrew Kirkrose, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Eroheizst, Fajar Zakhri, Jhoanna Lynn B.
Speak the Unspoken
| Sunday, 28 February 2021 07:30:00 PM
Spoken word poetry is a raw form of emotive storytelling, the same as written poetry for many queer Indonesians. Broadcasted live, you will witness Indonesian queers express their desire, their fear, their longing for recognition, their roots of origin, as well as what the future might be for them.
Queer Skin
Visual Art
This photo exhibition expresses the pride in every queer person, including those whose gender identities have been oppressed and marginalised. The pride that we hold have been reflected in the social and political movements in Thailand. Even though Thai LGBTIQ communities face traditional cultural challenges, they stand firm in who they truly are against these imposed norms.
Berat Mata Memandang, Berat Lagi Bahu Memikul
Performance Art
This work encapsulates the internal turmoil of queer Malay Muslims when negotiating their identity in heteronormative, Malay-Islamic spaces. Using ablution as a tangible access point, the cyclical cleansing rite captures the constant disorienting experience in one's attempt to reconcile one’s queer and religious identity.
Strengthening LGBTIQ Communities’ Collective Memory to Promote Inclusive ASEAN Values
Film
BlueChili is one of the LGBTQI business models in Cambodia. It was created to develop more job opportunities for LGBTQI people in Cambodia and provide a safe space for LGBTQI persons to show their skills and abilities and to be a safe space of diverse LGBTQI mobilization. The documentary will show the crucial role of entrepreneurs in LGBTQI activism in Cambodia.
To Be 'Me'
Film
"This film tells the story of Htet Soe Naung, who, from childhood has been so feminine, soft and lacking the courage to face the struggles of life and as a queer person. His identity clashed with the dreams and wishes of his parents. He seeks to find himself while wearing several masks that conform to social norms and the expectations of people around him.
thenational.api
Literary Work
A new portal opens on your device, and you are invited to immerse in the stories of how a Malaysian takes root in Singapore while navigating their identity.
Malaysians Read LGBTQ Stories
Film
"Malaysians Read LGBTQ Stories" is a four-part series featuring diverse people in Malaysia reading real-life experiences of LGBTQ people in the country.
Vietnam Queer History Month: Once Upon A Time
Film
TThe 3-part series aims to recreate and introduce a queerer side of Vietnam's rich and lively history of more than a thousand years by exploring the following themes: Vietnam's history through a gender-nonconforming lens, art represents heart, and a quick look at Vietnam's LGBTIQ+ movements. The film is directed by Nguyễn Thùy Dương.
Queerator
Visual Art
Queerator is one of the first projects in Vietnam with the aim of keeping the history of the queer community alive through public display. By connecting the polarity of queer and non-queer through art, Queerator hopes to become a experimental playground for a mutual understanding of queerness.
Native Culture and Colonial Repression: The role of Fantasy and Fiction in Reclaiming LGBTQIA+ Spaces in Southeast Asia
| Sunday, 7 March 2021 07:00:00 PM
A conversation with writers A. Xiao Wei, Joyce Chng, Tham Chee Wah, EK Gonzales, Slac Cayamanda, and Steno Padilla. Moderated by Joel Donato Ching Jacob.
Deaf LGBTQIA
Film
Deaf LGBTIQ features the lives of deaf LGBTIQ people in Malaysia who have many stories to tell but rarely do because of communication and language barriers. The lives of deaf LGBTIQ people are never easy; not everyone accepts their deafness and LGBTIQ identity.
BACKSPACE
Film
An animated short about a recent graduate struggling with applying for work and having to make changes to their openly queer online profile to be deemed employable.
Budjang
Film
Budjang tells the story of the blossoming of LGBT people in a conservative muslim barangay (community) in Mindanao, and highlights their customs. While this community has exercised tolerance towards LGBT people, there is still much that needs to be done in order to achieve acceptance and inclusion.
The Second Skin
Visual Art
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" was a movie that changed BBQ’s view on gender, sex, relationships and self love. In the movie, there's a scene where the main character uses a piece of fabric to wipe the sweat off her face, imprinting her full makeup on it.
Days with Nina
Visual Art
Have you ever heard the sentiment that being gay is just a trend, or that it’s a product of “Western culture”? Deep down we all know that queer people have always been here, but have you ever wondered how it was like to be queer in 90s Indonesia?