Projects in genres: LGBTQIA+

Synopsis

Claude Cahun’s iconic photograph ‘Don’t Kiss Me/In Training’ was inspiration for a two line poem, a fractured couplet revealed and hidden throughout this piece about intimacy, tactility and the projected theatre of how it feels to be together.

A game involving dressing up, repeated, with love. Training for feeling.

Synopsis

Within the backdrop of a vibrant house party, Downing explores the complicated minefield of teenage sexuality as John, the isolated local gay lad, finds an opportunity to exact revenge on his straight oppressor, the popular and handsome Daniel.

Synopsis

From traditional wife and mother of three to jet-setting ‘Baby Dyke’, share Jan’s story as she travels the globe searching for Sapphic insights, flirting and dating tips…

Jan Walker was married for 23 years but whilst her hubby watched the football, she discovered The L Word, little knowing her life would soon be transformed. Her subsequent divorce, paved the way for her late adoption of lesbian life, catapulting her into a new world of cruises, entertainers, dining clubs, ramblers, conventions and global gay pride events, encouraged by her bemused but supportive children.

Meeting lesbian ambassadors, entertainers, entrepreneurs and pioneers along the way, she welcomes tips and anecdotes from established lesbians, ‘Gold Star’ lesbians, young and old lesbians, couples and singles to women like herself who are ‘dykes in training’ honing their ‘Gaydar’ skills. In her quest to make up for lost time Jan seeks answers to help establish her new found identity. Is she an Alpha or a Beta? Femme, Butch or Kiki? A Pillow Queen or Stone Butch? Does she have to be any? And what exactly do they mean? How does a fifty year old Baby Dyke find love? And exactly how do you switch on your Gaydar?

Synopsis

Ever since Noah was a child he’s wanted to work with his father building canoes in Maine's north woods.

But because of a well hidden secret this dream has always eluded him.

This is the story of Noah’s transformation as he uncovers the truth that has kept him from his lifelong ambition.

Synopsis

Louise thought she'd met the man of her dreams. But it all went wrong when she introduced him to her gay friends. In a modern world where straight men are waking up to the fact that gay people are the gate-keepers of the cool in-set, Mr Right gives a crash course on understanding how their clique works.

Synopsis

A young man meets a stranger for SM sex, an experience that will change his life for ever.

Synopsis

Hayder and Falah, two young Iraqi men, seek asylum in London from Baghdad. The two men buy illegal passage onto a cargo vessel, enduring a storm-tossed journey in the dim confines of a shipping container. Uncertain how long their voyage will last, or if they will be turned away upon arrival, they count the days by the light through a star-like hole in the ceiling. Falah, a writer, comforts Hayder with lines from Shakespearean love sonnets, whispered in Arabic, as they await an unknown reception.

Their entry into England is heralded by the growling of security dogs at the walls of their container, and the two lovers become separated. We follow Hayder through the scrutiny of immigration to his frantic search for Falah in the Arabic communities of West London. Ultimately, as he finds himself bereft in an indifferent city, Hayder must trust that the poetry of their love will lead him, once again, to Falah.

Synopsis

Set on a rural island of the south coast England, We Once Were Tide tells the story of Anthony and Kyle, and their last night together as Kyle moves away leaving Anthony to look after his dependent mother.

Synopsis

Shot in a week by a lone British woman filmmaker but based on a year's research, this funny, moving Grey Gardens/Maysles Brothers style cinema verite doc contrasts the lives of Ian and Robin, two alcoholic expats (one British, one Dutch) living in a squat next to millionaire yachts, with the glamour of Cannes Film Festival.

Life mirrors art as the filmmaker accidentally becomes homeless during shooting and turns the camera on herself. Shows the dark side of British expat life in luxury sunny destinations.

Synopsis

A beautiful young escort, Paul, suffers from trip-like dreams he doesn't understand. These visions are shared by his clients, both scaring and exciting them.

Paul is searching for his twin brother, whom he hasn't seen since childhood, and hooks up with enigmatic film director John Baxter. Desired by everyone but lost to himself, Paul is persuaded to make one adult film, which will help him discover himself, and in the process find his twin. But the journey he goes on is a dark one, involving dangerous clients, an unscrupulous rival producer, and unsafe sex. In discovering his true past, Paul is in danger of destroying himself

Synopsis

Escaping the city for a weekend away, company man Ken (Faith City’s Eoin Macken) and his girlfriend Rachel (Anna Skellern of Descent 2) meet up with an old friend, the exotic and worldly Marco (Anthony Jabre).

Their plan is simple, tour the local coast for a relaxing weekend in the wilderness. Things hit a snag when Marco spots a beautiful young girl, the sultry and seductive Silka (Eastern Promise’s unforgettable Tereza Srbova), waving for help off the shore of one of the many secluded islands. But if anyone needs help now, it’s them.

Synopsis

Donor Unknown follows the story of Jo Ellen Marsh, 20, as she goes in search of the sperm donor father she only knows as Donor 150.

Jo Ellen has always known her family 'wasn't like other families'. She grew up in Pennsylvania with two mothers, and a burning curiosity to know more about her anonymous donor father. When Jo Ellen discovers a unique online registry that connects donor-conceived children, she manages to track down a half-sister in New York. The New York Times picks up the story, and, over time, 12 more half-siblings emerge across the USA.
 
The New York Times article also falls into the hands of Jeffrey Harrison, living alone with four dogs and a pigeon in a broken-down RV in a Venice Beach car park. In the 1980s, Jeffrey supplemented his meagre income by becoming a sperm donor at California Cryobank. His number was Donor 150.

Donor Unknown follows Jo Ellen from her discovery of her siblings, to the moment Jeffrey steps forward to identify himself as Donor 150, to her decision to travel to California to meet him.