Presented by the Chinese Cinema Project, in partnership with Queer East, this screening will be followed by an online Q&A with the director Qiu Jiongjiong, moderated by Victor Fan (KCL).
Part of Qiu’s ‘Chatterbox Trilogy’ along with A Portrait of Mr. Huang (2010) and My Mother’s Rhapsody (2011), Madame is a vibrant portrait of trans performer ‘Bilan de Linphel’ (birth name Fan Qihui), which is both intimate and exhilaratingly expansive. Filmed by Qiu over a couple of days of interviews, plus several weeks recording their stage shows in Beijing, the film alternates episodes of confessional autobiography with magnificent queer performances of torch-song standards. A tailor by trade, Fan belts out the cynical, broken-hearted, yet proudly defiant lyrics of jazzy numbers with a raw, expressive voice, and an awe-inspiring command of the stage.
More than a document of the increasingly complicated gender identity politics in China, Madame is also a poignant testimony of a life dedicated to articulating the aesthetics of living.