June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in the United Kingdom. It commemorates the Stonewall riots and aims to recognise the impact LGBTQIA+ people have had and continue to have across the world.

It’s a month for communities to come together in solidarity to unite, to protest and to celebrate the heritage, culture and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people.

Activists and allies can support by:

  • Increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (“LGBTQIA”) people, their history, lives and experiences in the curriculum and culture of institutions, and the wider community;
  • Raising awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LGBTQIA+ community;
  • Working to make institutions safe spaces for all LGBTQIA+ communities; and
  • Promoting the welfare of LGBTQIA+ people, by ensuring that the education system recognises and enables LGBTQIA+ people to achieve their full potential, so they contribute fully to society and lead fulfilled lives, which benefits society as a whole.

 

Pride and Cinema

There are a wealth of films available on the LGBTQIA+ experience and history. It’s now as important as ever to support the work of LGBTQIA+ filmmakers and we have some lists and suggestions to get you started.

You can learn about how to become a more LGBTQIA+ friendly organisation, and think about how to support and collaborate with LGBTQIA+ led exhibitors and programmers.

When running LGBTQIA+ events is is important to consider intersectionality, including supporting global majority communities and ensuring your events embed disabled and neurodivergent access.

If you are interested in running a film event for, or inspired by, Pride, here are some resources for information and to help generate ideas, from case studies to film guides.

Film ideas and resources

Here’s what to watch to celebrate LGBTQ Pride’s roots in protest
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17 Essential Black Queer Films
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30 best LGBTQ+ films of all time
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17 of the Best LGBTQ Films of 2018 (Recent & Upcoming)
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Comprehensive* List of LGBTQ+ Vocabulary Definitions
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Stonewall Research Reports
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LGBT In Britain: Trans Report
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Dementia and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) population
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Queer Film Network
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42 queer filmmakers everyone should know
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Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival
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Out on the screen: 50 years of queer cinema in Britain
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Cinerama Film Online LGBTQ films: The Essential Collection
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A Short History Of LGBTQ+ Cinema
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A history of LGBTQ+ representation in film
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10 Tips to Make Your Venue More Inclusive for LGBTQ+ Tourism
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SQIFF Accessibility Guide for Exhibitors
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Why are there so few accessible LGBTQ+ venues
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The Unwritten: It’s Time to Make All Queer Spaces Accessible
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European Film Academy: LGBTQIA+ Film festivals Guide in Europe
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By us, about us, for all: why films by trans people matter for everyone
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‘There’s this inherent censorship’: how trans cinema has endured over time
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Five Films for Freedom: queer cinema and censorship
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5 Things to Know to Make Your Feminism Trans-Inclusive
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Guidance: Trans-inclusive culture
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Inclusivity: Social media marketing as a LGBTQ+ ally
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How bars can create safe spaces for queer communities
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Volunteers’ Week takes place in June every year, this week it runs from 3rd – 9th June. It’s a chance to say thank you for the contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK to support our communities.

The Week is open to anyone to take part – this can include carrying out an act of kindness, doing some volunteering or contributing to discussion. Find more information here.

The week is led in partnership by NCVOVolunteer ScotlandVolunteer Now (Northern Ireland) and Wales Council for Voluntary Action and supported by organisations across the UK.

Volunteers and Cinema

Hundreds of community cinemas across the UK are volunteer-run, with people bringing their love of cinema and the audience experience to life in their communities. There are also many other independent venues that simply would not be able to provide the special and personal experiences they do without the support of volunteers. This is a week to give extra thanks to these brilliant people.

6 Steps to Volunteer Management Success | Leep NGO

ICO: Developing Deaf Audiences for film

At least 1 in 6 people in the UK are affected by deafness. This number incorporates a wide range of experiences and forms of communication, but no matter the specific need, the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing deserve to be able to enjoy the cinema. We created this guide to help you understand the challenges Deaf people … More

In 2019, This Way Up took to Nottingham for the event’s sixth edition, which kicked off with opening sessions reflecting the key themes of the overall conference: Celebration, Resilience and The Future.

The conference featured more talks around inclusion than ever before, and we at Inclusive Cinema captured four of our favourite talks so those who couldn’t make the event could still get the benefit of case studies and insights shared.

The talks below are provided by the following speakers:

Rabab Ghazoul, the Founder & Director of Welsh cultural organisation platform Gentle/Radical, shared her vision of what the future of working with audiences could be. What does ‘outreach’ look like now, and what could it become?

Karena Johnson, Artistic Director and CEO, Hoxton Hall, shared her experience of re-launching Hoxton Hall, a Victorian music hall, and tackling the sometimes uncomfortable issue of diversity. She led a workshop session where delegates were invited to explore their own approach. She spoke about shifting organisational culture, bringing a team with you on a journey and how to manage expectations.

Rico Johnson-Sinclair, Director and Programmer of CineQ Birmingham discussed campaigning for queer, trans, and intersex people of colour’s stories on screen and how he reaches audiences.

Nikki Stratton, Co-Founder & Director, Deaffest looked at the best ways to market to D/deaf audiences. Catherine Downes (Co-Founder, usheru) discussed their work aiming to reach those that start the ticket-buying process but don’t complete the all-important checkout process. With tips and tricks to maximise the potential of your marketing output.

Outreach: Decoloniality & Revolution - Rabab Ghazoul

Diversifying the cultural landscape - Karena Johnson

Marketing: Reaching your target audience - Rico Johnson-Sinclair

The best way to market to Deaf audiences - Nikki Stratton

Matchbox Cineclub: subtitling and advice services

Since 2019, all of Matchbox Cineclub’s screenings are subtitled, part of our commitment to making our events as accessible as possible. We also provide a professional subtitling service, with a particular expertise in film exhibition. Matchbox Cine can provide descriptive subtitles/SDH/captions for theatrical and non-theatrical exhibition, trailers, social media, broadcast television or any moving image … More

YouTube Help: Add your own subtitles and closed captions

Subtitles and closed captions open up your content to a larger audience, including deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers or those who speak languages besides the one spoken in your video. If you already have captions or subtitles, get help editing or removing existing captions.