Beijing’s annual independent queer film festival has been cancelled after what is understood to have been a campaign of sustained harassment from the authorities, with organisers announcing the Love Queer Film Week cancellation late Thursday as police increased pressure through repeated phone calls in recent weeks.
The Love Queer Film Week was due to begin on Friday but was called off after police increased pressure through repeated phone calls in recent weeks.
Founded in 2001 by a group of Peking University students, the festival had grown to become the only film festival in mainland China to offer a public forum for films and discussions exploring LGBTQ+ issues. In a statement posted on Instagram late Thursday, the organisers said: “We regret to inform you that the Love Queer Film Week … has been cancelled. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment that the cancellation of this event may cause to those who planned to participate or had been looking forward to the film week.”
The Chinese authorities have grown increasingly intolerant of open discussion of feminist or LGBTQ+ issues. Film festivals attract particular scrutiny because they provide an opportunity to platform narratives that sit outside the Communist party’s worldview. Beijing Independent film festival, China’s most prominent independent film festival, was closed down in 2014 after the authorities detained the founders and shut off the electricity supply to the venue. Last year, an independent Chinese film festival that was due to be held in New York was cancelled after harassment from the Chinese authorities, an incident which raised concern about transnational repression.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Maya Wang said the government under Xi has been relentlessly tightening social and ideological control. “Any activities outside of those sanctioned by the party-state are subjected to intensifying scrutiny and often also official harassment,” she said. “The authorities have put more pressure on what little is left of China’s civil society, as well as the LGBT communities and independent film-makers. A queer film festival basically faces all of these overlapping pressures.”
Hongwei Bao, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of St Andrews, said the festival was “a beacon for LGBT resilience” in China. “The shutdown of the Love Queer Cinema Week has a chilling affect on the Chinese queer community,” Bao said.
In June this year, screenings of films with LGBTQ+ themes that were scheduled to be held in Beijing during Pride month at the Institut Français, a French cultural centre, were cancelled because of police harassment. Despite the increased pressure, the festival remains a popular event. Several international film-makers whose work had been selected for the festival had travelled to China to participate. Last year, the festival received 200 volunteer applications, four times the number received in 2024.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The cancellation illustrates the Chinese government’s escalating campaign against civil society spaces, particularly those serving LGBTQ+ communities.
- The use of sustained phone calls and police pressure as a tactic signals that even cultural events are now routinely subjected to intimidation.
- The festival’s closure may set a precedent that further discourages independent film and LGBTQ+ organising in China, deepening isolation for these communities.
Background
The Beijing Queer Film Festival was founded in 2001 by Peking University students and became mainland China’s only public platform for LGBTQ+ films and discussions. The Chinese authorities have grown increasingly intolerant of feminist and LGBTQ+ issues. In 2014, the Beijing Independent film festival was shut down after its founders were detained and the venue’s power cut. In 2025, an independent Chinese film festival planned for New York was cancelled after harassment from Chinese authorities, raising transnational repression concerns. In June 2026, LGBTQ+ film screenings at a French cultural centre in Beijing were cancelled due to police pressure.
Key Perspectives
Beijing Queer film festival organisers: said they regretted the cancellation and apologised for any inconvenience and disappointment.
Maya Wang, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch: said the government under Xi has been tightening control and that activities outside party-state sanction face intensifying scrutiny and harassment.
Hongwei Bao, professor of Chinese studies at the University of St Andrews: said the festival was a beacon for LGBT resilience and that its shutdown has a chilling effect on the Chinese queer community.
What to Watch
- Whether Chinese authorities take further action against remaining LGBTQ+ events or independent film programmes.
- How the international community, including film industry groups and human rights organisations, responds to the cancellation.
- The fate of international film-makers who had already travelled to China for the festival and any restrictions they may encounter.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- Partly supportedThe festival was cancelled after weeks of police pressure through repeated phone calls.World news | The Guardian: “Police had increased pressure on the festival through repeated phone calls in recent weeks, it is understood.”
- SupportedThe cancellation followed what is understood to be official harassment.World news | The Guardian: “Beijing’s annual independent queer film festival has been cancelled after what is understood to have been a campaign of sustained harassment from authorities.”
- SupportedThe organisers’ statement said the Love Queer Film Week had been cancelled and apologised to people who had planned to participate or looked forward to it.World news | The Guardian: ““We regret to inform you that the Love Queer Film Week … has been cancelled. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment that the cancellation of this event may cause to those who planned to participate or had been looking forward to the film week.””
- SupportedThe festival was due to begin on Friday.World news | The Guardian: “Beijing Queer film festival, which was due to begin on Friday in China’s capital, is one of the country’s oldest independent film festivals.”
- SupportedThe festival was founded in 2001 by Peking University students and became mainland China’s only film festival offering a public forum for films and discussions about LGBTQ+ issues.World news | The Guardian: “Founded in 2001 by a group of Peking University students, the festival grew to become the only film festival in mainland China to offer a public forum for films and discussions exploring LGBTQ+ issues.”
- SupportedMaya Wang said the authorities put more pressure on China’s civil society, LGBT communities and independent filmmakers, and that a queer film festival faces overlapping pressures.World news | The Guardian: ““The authorities have put more pressure on what little is left of China’s civil society, as well as the LGBT communities and independent film-makers. A queer film festival basically faces all of these overlapping pressures.””
- SupportedHongwei Bao called the festival “a beacon for LGBT resilience” and said its shutdown had “a chilling affect” on the Chinese queer community.World news | The Guardian: “Hongwei Bao, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of St Andrews who focuses on LGBT issues, said that the festival was “a beacon for LGBT resilience” in China. “The shutdown of the Love Queer Cinema Week has a chilling affect on the Chinese queer community,” Bao said.”
- SupportedBeijing Independent film festival was shut down in 2014 after authorities detained its founders and cut the venue’s electricity.World news | The Guardian: “Beijing Independent film festival, China’s most prominent independent film festival, was closed down in 2014 after the authorities detained the founders and shut off the electricity supply to the venue.”
- SupportedIn June, LGBTQ+-themed screenings scheduled at the Institut Français in Beijing during Pride month were cancelled because of police harassment.World news | The Guardian: “In June this year, screenings of films with LGBTQ+ themes that were scheduled to be held in Beijing during Pride month at the Institut Français, a French cultural centre, were cancelled because of police harassment.”
- SupportedSeveral international filmmakers whose work had been selected for the festival travelled to China to participate.World news | The Guardian: “Several international film-makers whose work had been selected for the festival had travelled to China to participate.”
- SupportedThe festival received 200 volunteer applications last year, four times the number received in 2024.World news | The Guardian: “Last year, the festival received 200 volunteer applications, four times the number received in 2024.”