CINEMATIC CELEBRATION

Legendary Japanese director Takeshi Kitano’s samurai epic Kubi will open the sixth edition of London’s Queer East Festival on April 23 at BFI Southbank.

The festival, running through May 18, will showcase over 100 titles exploring LGBTQ+ experiences across East and Southeast Asia.

Highlights include “Rookie,” about a teenager joining an all-girls volleyball team in the Philippines; “Under the Moonlight,” documenting an Islamic boarding school for transgender women in Indonesia; and the 1968 Japanese underground film “Crazy Love,” shot in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.

Also featured is “Bel Ami,” following a middle-aged Chinese man’s decision to come out, and “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking,” which explores desire and belonging through a teenager’s nighttime journey in Manila.