Hi, I am Lei.
I am a documentary filmmaker and researcher in Human-Computer Interaction based between Berlin, Germany and Shenzhen, China. I received my M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in East Asian Studies at Princeton University. I also completed a Master course in Cinematic Arts at Art-on-the-run Film School in Berlin. My artistic practice and research focus on the topics of communication technologies, social media, online communities, and online activism 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.
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…”
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).
Authors: Qinyuan Lei, K. Kuksenok, R. Tang, J. Guo, R. Ji, J. Li
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.
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.
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.
The tech-art spotlight shone on Shenzhen this spring, a city once known for electronics manufacturing and the Maker Movement. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen, I as the curator in chief collaborated with the Shenzhen Futian District Government and the Huaqiangbei Street Office in putting forth the first Shenzhen Digital Art Festival in the booming Asian tech hub. Shenzhen Digital Art Festival was part of the 15th China International Cultural Industry Fair.