Rampant nudity. Cross-cultural romances. And of course, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Am I describing some cheesy gay American indie? No! Suddenly there has been an explosion of queer cinema from local filmmakers, and at the Hong Kong International Film Festival this year (March 22 – April 13), you will get a taste of what these rambunctious directors are up to. Of course, works from around the globe are represented too, making the 2009 festival a veritable buffet for gay, lesbian and transgendered viewers.

First up are the triple-threat of Hong Kong films. In the achingly romantic Soundless Wind Chime, director Kit Hung describes the cross-continent relationship between a backpacking Swiss boy and a Beijing émigré who works at a Kowloon wonton shop. The film was one of the three finalists for the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin Film Festival, and for good reasons: it is definitely quite moving.

Another film invited to Berlin this year is Simon Chung’s deftly directed End of Love, which chronicles the tumultuous life of Ming, a local boy who struggles between love, family, sex and drugs. He ends up in a Christian rehab camp – an experience that you can imagine as being both bizarre and a bit scary.

Last but certainly not least is the singularly named Scud’s directorial debut, Permanent Residence. Those who live in Hong Kong as expats will understand the feeling of rootlessness, and even more will relate to the experience of falling for a straight boy. But the alien part is the amount of perfectly sculpted physique on-screen – much of it naked! Yes, for those among us who are more “visual”, the film is a real, uhm, treat. But those wanting an involving story about self-discovery will find something to like here too.

And though produced by Indonesians, we also get a glimpse of lesbian love in Hong Kong in the documentary At Stake. Depicted here are two lesbian couples – a surprise considering Indonesia’s more conservative religious stance. This is a must-see for those who care for women’s rights.

Across the Taiwan Straight, we get another cross-cultural romance between a German speaker and Chinese (theme of the year?). But Ghosted, also hot off of Berlin, is a lesbian tale whereby an installation artist goes to Taipei and encounters a mysterious journalist. Does this woman have anything to do with the artist’s recently-deceased Taiwanese lover?

Neighboring Korea gifts us with two utterly different films. The Japanese manga Antique Bakery is adapted into Antique, a comedy with five impossibly good-looking men who come together in the name of great patisserie. If that is not enough, hot French actor Andy Gillet makes a cameo as an object of desire. Tasty desserts and tastier men-on-men kissing – can it get any more delicious??

For something more alternative, the Pusan New Currents prizewinner Land of Scarecrows is a beautiful, audacious and utterly unique piece of cinema that features a transgender Korean man (born a woman) who travels to the Philippines to look for a wife to bring back home. Naturally, her true identity remains a secret… Art lovers will find this to be one of the more compelling stories this year.

In a similar vein is Sherman Ong’s experimental Flooding in the Time of Drought, which originally was made for the Singapore Biennale as an installation. But this new feature version, told in two chapters ‘Flood’ and ‘Drought’, contains transvestite love as part of the microcosm of lives – foreign, local, minorities or otherwise – who call the city of Singapore home.

Outside of Asia, Europe represents the biggest contribution, including these two documentaries. Master director Terence Davies’ critically acclaimed Of Time and the City, shown last year in Cannes, is a loving yet biting ode to the filmmaker’s hometown of Liverpool, including the years he spent growing up gay. For the fashionistas, Valentino: The Last Emperor is a revealing look at the designer label and the power behind the throne – longtime business partner and lover Giancarlo Giammetti. It is cute to see the two of them with their dogs – their own version of a happy family.

For non-docu lovers, the award-winning The Country Teacher by Czech humanist Bohdan Slama is a treat. It concerns a young man who escapes the city to teach in the rural countryside, only to have his ex-boyfriend came back to haunt him, breaking a relationship he has formed with a widow. On the lesbian side, the French title You Will Be Mine is about a woman who moves in with a childhood friend only to find her resolute and authoritarian…and strangely attractive. Will she escape or be further drawn into this dangerous desire?

Finally, though these two films are not queer-themed per se, there is enough relevance to warrant a mention. Country Wedding from Iceland is a madcap tale of a wedding in the countryside gone horribly wrong. In along for the ride is a gay couple whose secret relationship flare up in front of all the attendees. And the Sundance Special Jury Prize winner Louise-Michel is a hilariously deceptive little gem with a big surprise. When a factory closes and all the workers are laid off, the ex-employees plot to assassinate their former boss.

So that wraps it up for HKIFF and its rich selection of queer films this year. For more information, go to www.hkiff.org.hk. See you in the cinemas!