HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

　　The opening ceremony of the very first Beijing Gay and Lesbian Film Festival was held in the South Hall of Peking University Library on December 14 th , 2001. During this event, organized by the Film Association of Peking University, all the mainland Chinese movies related to homosexual topics were presented, including the first Chinese homosexual movie <West Palace, East Palace> (1996), the first lesbian movie <Fish and Elephant> (2000), <Nan Nan Nu Nu> (1999), < The Old Testament> (2001) and <Lan Yu> (2001), which won four honorable Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. After every movie, the audience had the opportunity to have a quiet and lucid discussion with the film crew. About 3000 people attended the Festival, with some of them coming from the province. Media organizations such as Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, Phoenix TV, Life week, Hongkong Dagongpao Journal, France World News and Liberation reported the event.

　　As time goes by, society develops and conceptions make leaps forward, the homosexual phenomenon of homosexuality is being more and more recognized and accepted by the Chinese people. Homosexuals used to face a hostile behavior but are now treated in a more understanding, tolerant and scientific way. In December of 2004, China 's Sanitation Bureau released for the first time some data about Chinese gays and AIDS patients. This indicates that our society and ordinary people attitudes and values are changing. They now face this phenomenon in a practical, realistic and positive way. Although there still is a long way to go before reaching a fully open society, we can assess the trends and believe that a rational, scientific and civilized society is on its way.

　　The 2001 Beijing Gay and Lesbian Film Festival gave the homosexuals a chance to speak to the masses. It affected not only the Chinese but also people abroad: the 2002 Paris Gay Film Festival announced its support to China , and the organizers of the Beijing Festival have continuously received letters requesting information about our next event in China . The warmth and needs from the audience encouraged the organizers to find any possible way to keep this festival on tracks. As a result, the second edition will be held in April of 2005.

　　It is estimated that there are more than 400 million homosexuals in China today, but in the movie industry, the topic has been concealed in the shadow and very few gay-related films have been produced so far. Initially, the Beijing Gay and Lesbian Film Festival had a simple aim: to create a space for the words and images which couldn't be allowed in the Chinese mainstream media, to set a stage for a community which couldn't act openly in our society. But the second edition of this Festival will widen the original intentions as it will not only show the films produced about gays or lesbians over the past 3 years, but also deepen the discussions and thinking about sex, sexual orientation and sex health.

　　The focus of this new Festival will indeed be on “Sex Health”, a theme generally referring to sex conception, sexual orientation policies, gay theories, gender behavior, AIDS prevention, sex trade and society protection.

　　Desire needs to regain its identity as a natural attribute and a personal right. It's a discrimination to ignore sex orientation. Therefore, we wish our new film Festival can tackle Chinese sex education and topple the image of immorality Chinese homosexuals have had for far too long.