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DIVA

Nicolas Cilins
Switzerland, 2022
29 min

Diva brings to the forefront a biography recounted from the non-western perspective of a trans person, whose subjectivity and manifestation of their identity is shaped in a particular way in the East. Furthermore, the film documents the everyday difficulties faced by queer people in Asia and their modes of subsistence.

Diva presents another facet of queer and trans identity, unfiltered by western culture, whose drag and trans perspectives are already marred by iconization and capitalization. In Vietnam, Diva Cat Thy presents her identity in a multifaceted manner. Campy and sincere, she performs her identity with flamboyance and modesty in her attempts to make a living – by selling food on the street, hosting bingo contests, or vlogging on social media. Trans identity is shaped trans-geographically, affected by the socio-political conditions of the space in which it exists. Queer perspectives from the East are doubly marginal, as they are very little discussed in the European, Western space and so, Diva creates a fissure in the discursive hegemony. (Emilian Lungu)

Date and Location

27th of September, 18:30, Cinemateca Eforie

Tickets

Premii și festivaluri

Nicolas Cilins

Nicolas Cilins (b. 1985, France) is an artist living in Geneva, Switzerland, working across the disciplines of visual arts, filmmaking, and performance art. He has shown works in museums, theatres and film festivals and won several awards including Swiss Theatre Award (with Cie Yan Duyvendak, 2019) and Swiss Art Awards (2018). Public collections include Arsenal, Institut für Film und Videokunst in Germany; Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland; FRAC Poitou-Charentes, France; FCAC & FMAC in Geneva, respectively the cantonand city collections. His filmography includes the short films: The Way We Walk (2020), Karen (2020), Marabout (2018), Bricofutur (2016), Gineva (2015), Stalin’s World (2013) and Moroccan Archaeologies (2012).

  • Technical sheet
  • CAST: Diva Cat Thy, Miss Tien Giang, Sim Let, Ngoc Huyen, Father Dragon, Hop Thu Thoai, Miss Tien’s husband, Nhu Y, Mr Tu Dat, Mr Trung
  • TRANSLATION: Dustin Duong
  • EDITING: Nicolas Cilins
  • SOUND MIX: Philippe Ciompi
  • ARTISTIC ADVISOR: Yan Duyvendak
  • SPECIAL THANKS TO: Dominique Auvray, Charlotte Terrapon
  • PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Republic and Canton of Geneva, the city of Geneva, Pro Helvetia
  • COMMUNICATION SUPPORT: Swiss films & OFC

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