Carnival Of Solitude: The World Of Qiu Miaojin

Foray into the cinematic world of Qiu Miaojin's legacy Known as one of Taiwan’s most innovative queer modernist writers, the counterculture legacy of Qiu Miaojin (1969 – 1995) continues to be celebrated, especially in the Chinese literary and LGBTQ+ community. Her novels, Notes of a Crocodile (1994) and Last Words of Montmartre (1996), which are now considered cult classics, explore lesbian identity at a time when homosexuality was not widely understood and accepted in Taiwan. While in Paris for her graduate studies, she committed suicide at the age of 26. Having previously expressed her admiration for filmmakers Theo Angelopoulos and Andrei Tarkovsky, much of Qiu’s writing is also influenced by cinema. The only short film she ever made, Ghost Carnival, was produced after she took part in the Video Communication Arts Talent Workshop Film Creativity Class in 1990. Based on one of her own short stories, Carnival of Ghosts, and co-directed with Lin Hsu Wen-er, this story was chosen as they felt its plot was suitable to be adapted into a film. Carnival of Solitude: The World of Qiu Miaojin features Crocodile Journals by Yeo Lee Nah, a short film inspired by Qiu’s novel, ‘Notes of a Crocodile’, followed by Ghost Carnival. Screening for the first time in Singapore, come experience the otherworldly presence of the only film Qiu made during her brief life. A post-screening discussion between curator Hsu Fang-Tze and multi-disciplinary artist Amanda Ruiqing Flynn will take place right after the screening. This screening is part of Objectifs’ biennial Women in Film and Photography showcase.