SCENE: Manchester LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival

SCENE LGBTQ+ Film and Television Festival returns to venues across Manchester this August, bringing a packed programme of previews, panels, live events, retrospectives and free outdoor screenings.

Spanning Aviva Studios, HOME, New Century, Cultplex and more, highlights include an opening night panel and party dedicated to Channel 4’s The Traitors, along with preview cinema screenings of Jane Schoenbrun’s Cannes Queer Palme winner Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas. There’ll also be appearances from the cast and crew of recent streaming hits including Disney+’s Rivals, with actors Gary Lamont and Hubert Burton discussing the making of the acclaimed series with its Executive Producer, Alexander Lamb.

Storied writer and television producer Russell T Davies (Doctor Who, Queer as Folk), will be joined at New Century by cast and crew for panel discussions and screenings of his latest Channel 4 sensation Tip Toe, an incendiary, state of the nation piece set here in Manchester. At Aviva Studios, meanwhile, there’ll be a full series screening and panel discussion around his superb, affecting 2021 drama It’s A Sin, which follows a group of friends fighting through the HIV/AIDS crisis of the late 1980s and early 90s.

For those looking to soak in some lively festival atmosphere, Channel 4 present First For Funny, a showcase of new comedy talent hosted by Chloe Petts (soon to appear on Taskmaster) while local legends Make A Scene queer film and tv club celebrate all things Absolutely Fabulous with Dragula’s Anna Phylactic and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Banksie as Eddie and Patsy. Or how about a special conversation with fan favourite contestants from BBC reality dating shows I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl, celebrating stories, connections and unforgettable moments.

Hotly tipped is Elliot Tuttle’s Blue Film starring Manchester’s own Kieron Moore (Netflix’s Boots) who will join the festival for a preview at HOME. We’ve also heard great things about John Early’s debut film Maddie’s Secret, and queer cinema fans will have spotted the latest installment of Louise Weard’s Castration Movie, as well as New Queer Cinema legend Gregg Araki’s (Mysterious Skin) I Want Your Sex.

SCENE pulls off the difficult trick of balancing the household names, established stars and television staples with new voices, radical cinema and experimental work – and it does so while managing to collaborate with some of the city’s most exciting grassroots organisations, including Speed & Strike and GASP! who present apocalyptic hangout movie Drinking and Driving and queer horror The Serpent’s Skin respectively.

SCENE forms part of Manchester Village Pride Fringe this year, with ticket profits going to MVP-supported charities, while ticketing partner Skiddle will also donate a percentage of booking fees to the same causes. And on a practical note, if you’re travelling into Manchester for the festival, 20 hotels across the city are offering Pride packages, from discounts to freebies – as good an excuse as any to make a night of it!