Director: Sophia Luvara
Running Time: 72 mins
Certificate: NR
Release Date: March 13th 2016 (Human Right Watch Film Festival)
Italian director Sophia Luvara’s documentary sets its sights on the lesbian and gay population of China, and more specifically the pressures on gay people to get married and have children, whether their parents know about their sexuality or not.
Inside The Chinese Closet follows two main people. The first, Andy, is an architect in his early 30s, whose parents are aware he is gay but are pressuring him to marry and have a kid. He is therefore looking for a woman to have a fake marriage with, preferably a lesbian, although he is torn about whether it’s something he really wants to do or not. Similarly, Cherry is a lesbian who’s already had a fake marriage which hasn’t worked out, but is now hoping to make her parents happy by adopting a child. She has never told them she is gay, but feels they are becoming increasingly aware. Again, she isn’t certain whether getting an abandoned newborn is right for her. [Read more…]