Creating the Film

So we’ve got our interviews, our donated films and photographs and our amazing filmmaker Simone Einfalt and we’re ready to start the process of what we want to explore through our short film. 

To gauge what audiences might find compelling on screen, we focused on the questions that sparked the most interest during our interviews and decided that "Is Exeter Pride now merely a celebration, or does it still hold the essence of a protest?" provoked some of the longest and most interesting conversation.

As Alan mentions in his interview, there have been significant changes in politics and society since the first Exeter Pride - the Equality Act in 2010, Same Sex Marriage Act in 2013, a rise in sports and media representation of LGBT+ individuals and an increase in films and television shows featuring LGBT+ characters, writers, or directors. This positive transformation deserves to be joyously celebrated!

But not all parts of the LGBT+ community have gained rights and progress at the same rate and rights for the trans community are even regressing. Access to puberty blockers for young people is under review, gender reassignment surgery waiting times have reached record lengths, and fear of trans people (particularly trans women) has been whipped up by politicians and the media.

As Tamsin says ’the need for political activism is much more pressing for trans people because … we’re fighting on a policy level … the urgency or tangible need for protests has been a lot less present in the community as a whole because a smaller part has required it’.

But as Chris’ spoken word piece encapsulates pride can be so many different things to different people, it can be joyous and silly whilst at the same time serious and political. You can protest for trans rights AND twerk at the same time!