Film Screening: The Fantasy of Deer Warrior

A screening of the 1961 Taiwanese queer fantasy film The Fantasy of Deer Warrior, presented by Waltham Forest Cinema Project with Queer East.

Waltham Forest Cinema Project collaborates with Queer East to screen Zhang Ying's 1961 Taiwanese curiosity The Fantasy of Deer Warrior, in which costumed actors play forest animals whose peaceful lives are disrupted by a wolf attack and a romantic rivalry involving the Sika Deer, the Elk and the scheming Foxy. Though apparently intended as a children's film, it has gained queer camp appeal for its animal cosplay, with some viewers detecting political undertones. The film whimsically draws on elements from Aesop's Fables.