Bad Women of China
He Xiaopei
Release year: 2021
Run time: 82 mins
Film type: Documentary
Synopsis
The film documents the life experiences and desires of three generations of Chinese women from the 1920s to the present day, across generations and continents.
It is the director's intention to document women's sexuality and desires. As women's voices, experiences and desires are often overshadowed and ignored by the mainstream media; women often unconsciously belittle their own desires, ideals and life experiences, video creation can help women to express their desires and value their personal needs and experiences. By documenting the life stories and desires of women and other neglected groups such as sex workers, people with disabilities, sexually discriminated people and people living with HIV, the director hopes to give voice to oppressed desires.
Director biography
Hills trained me to be a shepherd and the Himalayas turned me into a mountaineer. A government job made me an economist while the women's movement converted me into a feminist. Participating in lesbian organising in China helped me realise that people with disabilities, HIV positive women, sex workers and lesbians married to gay men are particularly oppressed and that their voices are mostly silenced. In 2007, I co-founded ‘Pink Space’, an NGO working with people who are marginalised due to their gender and sexuality. We use photos and films to enable people to tell their life stories, to gain power and to represent their desires and experiences.