Partial testimony to the increasing number of images of gay and lesbian Asia on our silver screen,
this program's two documentaries contribute to the festival's foregrounding of Asian-related film.
In Not Simply a Wedding Banquet, directors Mickey Chen and Ming-Hsiu Chen
take the opportunity of a highly publicized wedding between two gay men,
Yosheng and Ray, to look at a variety of issues for lesbians and gays in today's Taiwan.
The documentary's candid, knock-down interviews give voice to complex attitudes regarding youth,
the pros and cons of coming-out, and negotiations with "traditionally"-minded families.
At the same time as documenting the media frenzy surrounding this major event,
in the history of a queer Taiwan, Chen and Chen point to the fact that politically queer identities
do not necessarily follow American and European trajectories.

American Shawn Hainsworth suggests a similar tack in his documentary
of a drag parade and fashion show in a rural Filippino town. Reminding us that gay
pride often has its roots far from Stonewall, Hainsworth details this event which
was begun twenty years ago by the "Sunflowers" to celebrate the Catholic festival of Saint Helena.
Along with their increasing acceptance as a civic organization,
this group of gay men has grown in prestige and reputation and now draws an
audience from surrounding areas. *Sunflowers* presents a view of gender and
sexual identity not easily captured by the words "gay" or "transgendered."