This year LGBT+ History Month focuses on queer people's contributions off-camera.
'At a time when LGBT+ lives are in the media we also encourage you to look ‘Behind the Lens’ and listen to LGBT+ peoples’ lived experiences'.
So check out our guide of film related events and other activities happening in celebration, in and around Leeds and online.
If you have an event you think should be listed here please get in touch at: leeds.film@leeds.gov.uk
LGBT+ Stories on BBC iPlayer
43 programmes, including TV series and films celebrating and addressing Queer stories and culture, all available to watch now.
All4 Pride Collection
Channel 4 has an extension list of films, series and the Iris Prize Short Film Collection.
BFI Presents: Blue Jean
After several sold out screenings at LIFF 2022, BFI Presents the BIFA winning feature Blue Jean.
In 1988 queer people’s lives were upended across Britain when the Conservative government enacted ‘Section 28’, which aimed to ‘prohibit the promotion of homosexuality’ in Local Authorities. Writer-Director Georgia Oakley’s vividly realised debut feature is set at this turning point in British history. High school teacher Jean hadn’t thought her sexuality was of interest to her colleagues. But now with the new law, workplace suspicion gathers and Jean faces a dilemma when she meets a vulnerable gay new student. An amazingly accurate evocation of late 80s northern Britain, and a growing queer classic.
Twenty-Eight: Stories from the Section 28 Generation - Book Launch
Section 28 was not repealed until the early 2000s, so for fifteen years young queer people in the UK have grown up in the shadow of this oppressive law. Students of the 80s, 90s, and early 00s are still feeling the impact of the original “don’t say gay” law to this day. Join us in celebrating the launch of this essential book alongside its author and contributors, for an evening of solidarity with all those affected by section 28 and those experiencing new discriminatory laws today.
Joyland - In partnership with Leeds Queer Film Festival
An audience favourite at LIFF 2022, Joyland returns for a collaboration with Leeds Queer Film Festival. Saim Sadiq’s dazzling debut feature is a bittersweet tale of repressed desire and the quest for individual freedom. Unassuming Haider Rana has a seemingly happy arranged marriage and an ordered family life, living under the same roof as the rest of the Rana clan and their strict patriarchal father. But when Haider secretly becomes a backing dancer for an erotic dance cabaret and falls for glamourous trans starlet Biba, delicate family ties begin to strain.
INDIs Film Festival 2023
This year's INDIs Film Festival has several LGBT+ themed films as part of it's overall programme of films and events! Highlights include: Balaban, a striking, coming-of-age drama about teenage love in the face of stigma and danger. Before I Change My Mind, a stylish 80's drama about a non-binary student at a new school who starts to question how much of their identity will they compromise to fit in. Big Boys, the cult C4 show based on the writers own experiences as a closeted teenager adapting to uni life.
Pride (2014)
The third in a series of programmed features by the youth volunteer programmers. The British classic that has become a staple in queer film history, Pride!
In the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is on strike. Pride tells the story of a group of London gay and lesbian activists who banded together to support the miners. Calling themselves Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), they shook buckets on street corners to raise funds for the striking miners and their families.
Not Queer Enough Crafting Group
An arts and crafting group at Left Bank Leeds that provides a judgement-free space for LGBTQ+ people to meet and get creative! Bring a project along to work on or just come along and meet the group. No ticket required... just turn up! Josie, the founder of the group, started the sessions after not feeling ‘queer enough’ for some queer spaces, and wanted to make their own space with the intention of being 100% inclusive.
Leeds Queer Film Festival Programme Launch Night + Monsoon
Join Leeds Queer Film Festival for the reveal of the full line-up for their upcoming festival, 23 - 26 March. You can pick up your free copy of the festival programme and watch trailers for some of the chosen films before a screening of Monsoon, a UK drama in which a man returns to Vietnam for the first time since fleeing the American-Vietnam war with his family as a child.
LGBTQ+ Drama Club
In this session, you will take part in collaborative exercises that spark creativity with the aim to get both the body and brain working. Within a supportive and friendly environment, you will get the chance to read and analyse play texts, practise performance skills, investigate a range of theatrical styles, create your own material and most importantly, have a bit of fun! Completely free to take part, just reserve your spot in the link below.
Out Out 3.0
Back and this time they're going bigger and staying up later than ever before! Join for drag kings and dancefloor DJ's. Out Out is a cabaret, party and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community in Bradford. Hosted by the one and only Allan Key and proud to be a regular event centring drag kings from across the country right here in Yorkshire. Please note this event is strictly 18+
For more information on LGBT+ History Month please visit:
