The repetitive can often be mistaken for the stagnant. But for the queer and diasporic body, repetition is a sacred technology of survival. We witness the sensorial labour of rooting, from the rhythmic tending of greenhouse soil on foreign land to the pulse of a gay sauna where seeking connection becomes a daily haunting. These are the persistent, non-spectacular ways we reclaim our presence.

We invite you to pause briefly with us before the loop begins once more.

 

as a bird that briefly perches – dir. Dorothy Cheung | Hong Kong, UK | 2025 | 17 min
This video diary weaves together geology, gardening, and personal reflections on diasporic life.

Cave – dir. Kwan Yeung Tang | Hong Kong | 2025 | 24 min
A first-timer and a regular collide in the steam of a gay sauna.

Blessed are those that grieve – dir. Zora Arose Ritz, Evgenia Chetvertkova, Kayu Yeung | Germany |2025 |14 min
Gestures of grief are transformed via digital 3D scans.

Bleat! – dir. Ananth Subramaniam | Malaysia, Philippines | 2025 | 15 min
An elderly couple discovers that their male goat is pregnant.

The Glass Essays – dir. River Yuhao Cao 曹宇豪 | UK | 2025 | 17 min
Unable to sleep, a young man is lured into the woods by a mysterious sound.


Curatorial idea by Nam Huh, as part of Up Next: Future Film Curators Lab 2025/26
As part of Queer East 2026, a cross-disciplinary festival that showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities.

 

 

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