Tokyo Pride 2016. It was my extraordinary pleasure to be able to speak at the Tokyo Comics Showcase, where I presented my Brief History of Yuri. One of the folks there was the lovely Graham Kolbiens, who talked to me about a movie he was working on about queer life in Japan. When the Queer Japan Kickstarter launched, I was thrilled to be able to back it. As a result I have just been able to see the full Queer Japan movie and it’s absolutely fantastic.

The movie takes a look at queer life in Japan through the eyes of a number of folks – activists, club and bar owners, a politician, a plethora of artists. Life in Japan as sexual and gender minorities is presented from their perspective. Each perspective is unique. Each perspective is beautiful.

The cinematography here is pure arthouse, which suits the locations and the circumstances. And yet, these people let you into their homes, and their work and their lives. The movie provides a range of experiences from full on spectacle balanced with the every day; dressup party photoshoots with sitting in a comfy bar in Okinawa; from butoh dancer to business owners. Queer Japan is a priceless archive of these queer stories told by people whose voices aren’t heard much in the west. And it gives us any number of places to visit and art to see next time we’re in Japan. ^_^

According to the Queer Japan website, the movie is on video on demand and DVD in the US and Canada. If you or anyone you know wonder, what queer life in Japan is like for real, outside of Yuri and BL entertainment, I strongly recommend watching this movie.  I’ll now have something I can suggest to watch when someone asks me what queer life in Japan is like!

Ratings:

Overall -10

Queer Japan is an intimate look at Japanese queer lives told in their own voices.