We talk with the director of “Sisterhood” about what LGBTQ film representation means for queer women in Asia.
We could not be more excited to announce that LOTL has teamed up with Queer Screen Film Festival 2017 to be the official film partner of Sisterhood, a wonderful film about intense, queer female friendship in Macau in the 1990s and now, by the creator of the award-winning LGBTI documentary I’m Here.
Sisterhood will be screening at QSFF on Thursday 21 September, at 6:30 pm, at Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney.
We were lucky enough to talk with Sisterhood’s director, Tracy Choi, about the film, the state of LGBTQ representation and acceptance in Macau, and when social conservatism affects our understanding of our relationships…
FYI, film spoilers are ahead.
“Sisterhood” is about many things, but one of the core themes is how harrowing the effects of unconsummated, latent queerness can be. Sei and Ling’s relationship is incredibly intimate, but it never crosses the threshold. In your mind, what is it that stops them from taking their relationship further? Is it internalised homophobia, a homophobic society, or an inability to understand their own feelings because of these things? And how is this hesitance to cross the threshold something that all queer viewers can relate to?
The things that stop them from taking their relationship further are very complicated. First of all, it’s because they were in the 1990s. At that time, Macau was still a small town and did not usually interact with other international cities.
Also, Sei and Ling are not well educated, and they are very hardworking, just for making a living. They don’t really notice or know about LGBTQ issues in other places.
For me, Sei never thinks of their relationship in that way. She just thinks that it’s very comfortable to be with Ling. I think it matters to all queer viewers that it just loves no matter how it is defined. No matter whether she knows her identity or not, love won’t change.
The homophobia thing I think is more related to Ling, as she notices it. But for me, Ling doesn’t take their relationship further mainly because she wants Sei to have a “normal” life. For Ling, she can’t see that the opportunity is even open for two girls to make a family.
In revisiting old memories, Sei uncovers the queerness that resides in herself, and the film is framed in a non-linear way, with extended flashbacks throughout. Honouring past memories and formative relationships is crucial to the queer experience. How do the structure and the form of the film add to its queerness?
I think the awakeness of Sei is very important. A non-linear way to tell the story is to let her think of the old timepiece by piece.
Sei is incredibly detrimentally affected by her loss of Ling and the life that they might have had. Sei’s husband has to deal with a lot, but he takes everything that comes with such grace.
Why was it important to you to depict his character as such a gentle soul, rather than as someone who would be angry about his wife’s deception or unhappiness with him?
I discussed this with the screenwriter many several times about the husband. We thought that if the husband is a bad guy, that will make it too easy for Sei to escape somewhere else. Sei would definitely try to go away if he were mean. However, if the husband is so gentle, that makes the point more that she still can’t feel anything for him. The love she felt for Ling will be more special and more real.
Via QSFF
Some of the most joyous parts of the film are the scenes in which the young ‘sisters’ at the massage parlour are befriending each other and growing in female friendship together. How significant was it to you to depict not just Sei and Ling’s relationship, but the power of female friendships more generally, too?
This part of female friendship is also very important to me. At the very beginning, when I first think of this story, it’s already a group of friends. It’s because I really know some of the massage girls who work in the 1990s. And they really bond together. If some of them got into trouble, the others will help them without any doubt.
Macau itself is another protagonist in the film, and the city goes through character arcs as the women do – from a small-town atmosphere to a holiday city for rich Chinese businessmen. Why was it critical for you to tell Macau’s story, too?
I grew up and was born in Macau, so the change to Macau is really a big deal. When I was a kid, Macau was still a small town. Everyone was so close to each other. However, when I finished college overseas and came back to Macau, I suddenly found that the Macau I knew was missing. I couldn’t find the old memory anymore. So when we developed the story, I wanted to add this part to it.
Also, the D.O.P. of the film is my friend from high school. We grew up together and went abroad to study film together. We tried to film some differences in Macau and tried to show them to the audience.
In the Wikipedia entry for LGBTIQ life in Macau, another film of yours, “I’m Here” is mentioned as one of the only visible LGBTIQ creative productions to have come out of Macau. Do you feel that you carry a heavy responsibility for the LGBTQI people of Macau?
I don’t think it’s a heavy responsibility. I think in Macau, our progress on LGBTQ issues is still very slow.
In your mind, how does queer, and especially queer female, representation in film and the arts, contribute to making the world a more accepting and diverse place?
It’s very important that we show some queer people, especially women, in the film. I think on the other side of the world, people are already doing a lot of things to make it happen. There are a lot of films about queer people, and even TV shows have got more and more queer characters. But in Asia, the queer character is still missing. Young kids growing up in Asia find it hard to find someone that they can look up to in film and or television. And people still have a lot of misunderstandings about people in the LGBTQ group. I think the image of queer characters needs to show up more often.