8 Jun 2015

Seventh annual Shanghai Pride takes place this month

Shanghai is counting down the days to the biggest LGBTQ event of the year with June 12-21 brining a slew of cultural, social and educational events.

This year's festival aims to create awareness and promote tolerance and acceptance under the theme "love is our future." This year's festival sees the return of prominent events like the Pride Run on June 13, beginning and ending at The Langham with the annual Pink BBQ to follow at the hotel's fifth floor terrace bar.

The official launch of the festival takes place that same evening with the  much-anticipated Opening Party, featuring spectacular performances, drink deals, and prize giveaways.

The Shanghai PRIDE Film Festival (ShPFF) runs June 14-21, with screenings throughout the week that explore LGBTQ themes and showcase innovative voices in queer cinema. Audiences can also look forward to seeing the 23 films submitted for this year's inaugural short film competition on the subject of LGBTQ Chinese stories, as well as finding out the winners of the five prize categories.

Cultural events throughout the week include ShanghaiPRIDE Theatre Festival (ShPTF) with productions of the Vagina Monologues by the Zhihe Society at Fudan University and Bite My Thumb by East West Theatre. The Pride7 Art & Photo Exhibition will showcase the work of six Chinese and foreign artists at Polar Bear gallery in the M50 art district.

Andaz Xintiandi, Shanghai will host a PFLAG conference for parents whose children are part ofthe LGBTQ community, and attendees can test their knowledge of queer culture at the annual Trivia Night at Lucca Café & Lounge or learn about the organizations active in the community at LGBT Groups Open Day at Andaz Xintiandi, Shanghai.