The third of the LGBT+ History Month Film Series of films directed by LGBTQ+ filmmakers, held over four evenings in February and March. The series is curated by Prof Dr Rainer Schulze, Professor (em) Modern European History, University of Essex.

A Woman Is A Woman (2018), directed by Maisy Goosy Suen and produced by Mimi Wong. Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles.

A film about two transwomen, one at puberty and the other happily married for 10 years, both craving for integration and acceptance, struggling to be themselves, and having to overcome prejudices to find happiness in themselves.

One of the lead roles is played by a transgender woman: the first ever transwoman actress in Hong Kong. The other lead is played by a cisgender woman, when in the past the role of a transwoman were played by a man. In its casting, the film underlines the key message: “A Woman Is A Woman”, no matter whether they are trans or cisgender. This is also the first feature film production in Hong Kong where women occupy all the key production roles.

The producer, Mimi Wong, was a senior IT professional and transitioned from male to female some 10 years ago, losing both her family and her job. She set up the Association of World Citizens Hong Kong China to advance mainly transgender rights in Hong Kong.

Director’s statement:

“Gender identity and expression play a large and significant role in shaping our lives. Every day, transwomen have to fight for who they are, for acceptance and for the chance to simply live. They are human beings looking for themselves, looking for understanding, looking for life, living their lives; always trying, always searching for the light. I knew without reservation that I had to make this film and explore their stories. A Woman is a woman. That’s it. My vision is to create cinema that provokes the audience to understand transwomen; to create cinema that makes transwomen visible; to create cinema that connects different gender groups to love and respect each other; to create cinema that eliminates the age-old stigmatization on them.”

The evening will start at 19:00 with a short introduction, followed by the film plus Q&A and discussion with the filmmakers and time for networking, closing by around 22:00. Q&A panel to be confirmed.

Doors open at 18.00, for a 19.00 start.

Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.

TICKETS & PRICING

Tickets £8.

Advance tickets may be purchased from Ticketlab, or direct from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 in office hours.