Shanghai Panic!: Clips of the City After Pride

Among China’s major cities, Shanghai has always carried a unique rhythm and atmosphere—romantic, relaxed, hybrid, and free. While this creative temperament once attracted countless artistic practitioners, much of it quietly faded after the pandemic. And yet, traces remain—waiting to be rediscovered.

This series of screenings begins with the feature-length documentary Love Bound, a documentary by Shanshan Chen, a Shanghai-born director currently based in London. Chen’s film explores intimate relationships and the formation of East Asian queer communities overseas, capturing the fluidity and struggles of queer identities caught between belonging and displacement.

The two short film programs offer diverse portraits of local queer experiences: Red Horse, Itching, and Spring Starts Today depict people navigating bodily trauma and emotional recovery in the post-pandemic era; while Mrs. Man and The Third Solar Term explore the uncertainties of gender identity and embodied expression, portraying youth who reconstruct their identities amid self-doubt. Works such as Lovers and RIDE IT further extend the discussion through artistic interventions in public spaces and music, directly confronting stigma and conversion practices.

Together, these films showcase Shanghai's unique cultural ecosystem—shaped by the city’s rhythm, its fluid cultural exchanges, and vibrant queer communities. From transnational migrants to local collectives and individuals, queer creators in Shanghai are responding to the present moment in their own distinctive ways.

We hope this modest screening brings Shanghai’s queer narratives back into public view. And may our collective memory not fade into the background, quietly mentioned only in passing—like the Pride festival in The Third Solar Term, which exists now primarily through its absence.
May these images take root in the dark—and find resonance with you.

—Curator, Jenny Man WU