Zi'en Cui (Cuī Zi'ēn) is a film director, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist and an outspoken gay activist based in Beijing. He graduated from the Chinese Academy of Social Science with an MA in literature and now is an associate professor at the Film Research Institute of the Beijing Film Academy. Cui Zi En is one of the avant-garde DV makers in Chinese underground film. He has published nine novels in China and Hong Kong, one of which, Uncle's Past , won the 2001 Radio Literature Award in Germany. He is also the author of books on criticism and theory, as well as a columnist for magazines.