SAMBAL BELACAN IN SAN FRANCISCO + EAST PALACE WEST PALACE
November 4th, 18:00 @Muzeoteka
The screening will feature two films from Asia: Singaporean director Madeleine Lim’s short film Sambal Belacan in San Francisco (1997), portraying the experiences of three lesbian immigrants from Singapore in America, and Chinese director Zhang Yuan’s East Palace, West Palace (1997), a story of a meeting between two men steeped in desire and tension.
In 1997, Sambal Belacan in San Francisco was selected for the Singapore International Film Festival, but was ultimately denied permission to be shown — it was banned for its candid exploration of nationality, race, and sexual identity. This decision came despite the same festival screening The River by Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, and even closing that year with Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together. In October 2020, a one-time exception was granted and Lim’s film was finally allowed to be shown at the festival. Due to pandemic restrictions imposed by the government, the screening was attended by only 33 viewers.
Meanwhile, director Zhang Yuan made East Palace, West Palace in secret and, bypassing the censors, smuggled it to the Cannes Film Festival in 1997. This daring, lyrical and political work, now considered a classic of queer Chinese cinema, was the first film made in mainland China to openly depict homosexuality — and remains banned there to this day.
Sambal Belacan in San Francisco recounts the experiences of three first-generation immigrant lesbians from Singapore living in America. They strive to build a sense of home in a new place and to live openly, free from discrimination and persecution. The film is based on conversations that took place during monthly gatherings and shared meals of Singaporean and Malaysian bisexual and lesbian women. In this hybrid essay film, combining scripted scenes, cinema verité, poetry, interviews, and newsreel footage, director Madeleine Lim explores questions of sexuality, immigration, and alienation, as well as her own and others’ experiences, highlighting the intersections between Eastern and Western cultures.
Sambal Belacan in San Francisco | dir. Madeleine Lim | 25 min | USA | English, Chinese | subtitles in Lithuanian, English
East Palace, West Palace | dir. Zhang Yuan | 90 min | China, France | Mandarin | subtitles in Lithuanian, English
The Forbidden City between the East and West Palaces is a nightly meeting place for gay men in Beijing. One night, police officer Xiao Shi is on patrol when the writer A-Lan deliberately provokes his arrest. Xiao Shi takes A-Lan to the station, where an intense interrogation unfolds over the course of the night. A-Lan recounts his life, vividly transporting his interrogator into episodes filled with love and longing, gradually taking control of the conversation. Xiao Shi finds it increasingly difficult to hide his desire and feelings, which fluctuate between revulsion and fascination.
