Hi, I am Lei.
I am a documentary filmmaker and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher based between Berlin, Germany and Shenzhen-Hong Kong. I received my M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in East Asian Studies at Princeton University. My artistic practice and research focus on the topics of communication technologies, social media, online communities, digital ethnography, and how new technologies impact the everyday life of young people in China. Committed to the practice of media-based research and ethnography, I consider it my long-term goal to document the future of China in changing times.
Aside from my academic research, my debut documentary The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost (2021) has been shown in international film festivals, such as International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), RIDM-Montreal International Documentary Film Festival, DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, and DOK.fest Munich.
My documentary The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost「九樓日記」is selected to be part of the International Competition of IDFA 2021.
”In Shenzhen, China’s new tech hub, two young sisters find their parents’ workplace, the electronics market of Huaqiangbei, transformed into a magical world of monsters and ghosts…”
CHI 2024
My research group Digital Communities in China (DCC) presented a paper titled “A Game of Love for Women: Social Support in Otome Game Mr. Love: Queen's Choice in China” in CHI ‘24 in Hawaii!
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642306
CSCW 2023
My research paper “Identity Struggles as Online Activism in China: A Case Study Based on ‘The Inviting Plan for 985 Fives’ Community on Douban” has been accepted by The 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work And Social Computing (2023).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3610070
Joining ICA 2023
Our group project titled “Building Feminist Safe Spaces: Moderation Practices as Boundary Setting in Douban Feminist Groups” has been accepted to the 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference (2023).
Authors: R. Tang, Qinyuan Lei, J. Guo, Z. Tang
Joining DOK.fest Munich
The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost「九樓日記」has been nominated for the SOS-Kinderdörfer Weltweit award at Dok.fest Munich (2022).
My documentary The One Who Runs Away Is the Ghost「九樓日記」was selected to join the “Docs in Progress” program in the Swiss Film Festival, Visions du Réel in 2020.
Talk at Chinese University of Hong Kong
In the talk in the M.A. in Global Communication Programme at CUHK, I presented on the topic of “Creative Career Path with A PhD,” sharing my experience of combining my work in the creative industries and academic research.
Berlin Transgression
Berlin Transgression「柏林邊界」(2018) is my feature-length student film for attending Art-on-the-run Film School in Berlin, Germany. Now available in full on YouTube.