Be A Woman
Fan Popo
Release year: 2011
Run time: 88 min
Film type: Documentary
Synopsis
On Gonghe Road in Nanning, a city located in southwestern China, there is a bar called Only Love, where luxurious merry-making happens every evening. Gorgeous costumes, glittering stage lighting, tempting dancing...behind their sophisticated performances, what life stories do these drag queens hide? Ziqi, a lofty nightingale flirting with different men every evening, humorous and dirty Bread, running mad both on and off the stage; spicy Lala, always dressed particularly delicately; Shancun, older and heavier than all the others, who won’t miss a single minute on the pole. Three years of faithful recording brings you a detailed portrait of their beauty, joy and sadness.
Director biography
Popo Fan is a queer filmmaker and activist. His films address topics such as same sex marriage (New Beijing, New Marriage), trans issues (Be A Woman), and feminism (The VaChina Monologues). His trilogy Chinese Closet, Mama Rainbow, Papa Rainbow, focusing on LGBT families in China, had had a strong impact on Chinese society. His tireless work on LGBT visibility also includes serving as organizer for the Beijing Queer Film Festival for more than a decade, as well as founding the Queer University Video Training Camp. In 2011, he received the Prism Award from the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. In 2016 he won the best short film at Chouftouhonna, Tunis International Feminist Art Film Festival (The VaChina Monologues). He participated in Berlinale Talents 2017, and was jury of the Teddy Award in 2019.