爱的牵绊

Followed by a talk with dir. Chen Shan-Shan and the protagonist Chen Qiu-Yan

Asian Queers Reunited 2025 opens with intimate and intricate portraits of queer lives across borders, love and margins.

LGBTQ+ activist CHEN Qiu-yan rose to prominence in the 2010s for her legal battle against homophobic school textbooks in China — a fight that led to her being surveilled, outed, and exiled. To escape these pressures, Qiuyan left for the UK, where she met her partner Bling, yet her struggles were far from over. Interweaving reflections on Qiuyan’s sexuality and relationships, director CHEN Shan-shan’s documentary examines this inspiring activist’s commitment to building a close-knit community designed to support queer East Asian people in the UK: a solo endeavour that evolves into a movement with a growing support base. Love Bound is a compelling story about love, resilience, and the ongoing struggle for a better world. (CiLENS)

CHEN Qiu-Yan, the protagonist of Love Bound, is an LGBTQ+ feminist activist and community-engaged artist. She has experience in equal rights legal advocacy, youth empowerment and community art practices in China and Pan Europe. She established Queer China UK hoping to create a “home” for the Chinese LGBTQIA+ diaspora community.