Driven by a team of passionate writers, promoters, DJs and designers, CINEMQ offers a series of monthly themed short film screenings and parties in collaboration with big names on the Shanghai nightlife circuit. Launched in 2015 as a creative crowd-building initiative for ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival, CINEMQ has since partnered with city nightlife lynchpins such as DADA, Elevator and Shelter to offer alternative party series with a distinctly artistic and intellectual twist. CINEMQ is a key-player for those yearning for a clued-up, diverse queer culture in Shanghai, distinct from the city’s mainstream queer scene that continues to march to the beat of growing commercialisation.
Each film screening showcases a bespoke cinematic ‘mix-tape’ with a distinct thematic thread, conceptualised and stitched together by the CINEMQ team. While each experimental mix-tape casts a spotlight on independent cinema and under-represented queer lm-makers and video artists, CINEMQ pulls from a wide range of sources to mix and match visuals in order to highlight or challenge a central concept. ‘Creating mix-tapes is a really experimental approach' says Matthew Baen (below), co-founder of CINEMQ and co-curator of the collective's characteristic 'short narratives'.
Chinese short films, television adverts, drag performances, interviews and music videos and more are chopped up and reworked into an avant-garde patchwork-style medium through which ideas can be challenged through a distinctly critical lens. Big themes such as masculinity, queer dance culture and non-binary gender have so far come under the CINEMQ microscope, charging attendees with the task of viewing issues in a new light.
Rotating among a range of locations across the city, CINEMQ rejects the stuffy vibe of traditional film screenings, favouring unconventional spaces and simple wall-projections where possible. Partnering with clubs and bars such as DADA, Shelter, Elevator and Craft has supported the growth and visibility of the collective, offering multi-purpose events spaces for both screenings and club-nights. Although these venues are by no means LGBTQ specific, clubs like the now-defunct Shelter offered safe spaces for the queer community and actively contributed to the building of queer culture in Shanghai. Free after-parties conclude each screening with the CINEMQ team or their partners from Co:Motion on the decks.
The team behind the scenes at CINEMQ have big plans for the future of the collective. In addition to monthly screenings and parties, CINEMQ is set to launch an independent bilingual magazine and website focusing on queer cinema and Chinese screen culture. With whispers of a zine on the not-so-distant horizon, CINEMQ’s growth and diversification promises to be a game-changing force in the local queer community.
CINEMQ 14: /KINK/
Taste the whip, the pleasure is ours. Bound with ecstasy, whipped into a frenzy. Tie me down and me fill me up. CINEMQ presents KINK, a night of hidden desire and exposed delight. Featuring award winning short films from Sundance, Frameline and Iris Festivals screening for the first time in Shanghai. Strap up, cuff in and put your leather on. Afterparty feat. Michael Cignarale.
Daliah 408 Shaanxi Bei Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu, Jingan district. Apr 20. 8.30pm. Free.
More from Time Out Shanghai
The best street style from Shanghai Fashion Week AW 2017
Hangover-busting Bloody Marys and grilled cheeses at Hot Box