Queer East Festival: The Love Eterne (18)

In this sumptuous musical adaptation of one of China’s most famous folk tales, Betty Loh Ti plays fourth-century maiden Chu Ying-Tai, who yearns for an education. So she disguises herself as a boy in order to attend school; there she meets the dashing Liang Shan-Po, with whom she falls passionately in love.

This retrospective screening offers audiences the chance to revisit this classic film six decades after its release. Gender-bending role-play was traditional in Huangmei opera and here features as part of the story. But from a contemporary perspective, the decision to cast a female actress – Ivy Ling Po – in the male role complicates the onscreen sexual dynamics.

Presenting desire as fluid and uninhibited by gender, this playful and hugely popular musical made Ling Po an icon and picked up numerous major awards across East Asia.