SCENE, Manchester’s brand-new LGBTQ+ film and TV festival, has announced some additions to its already impressive 2024 lineup, promising an unforgettable celebration of queer culture, music, and cinema.
Joining the programme of screenings and panels, the festival will honour iconic queer musicians, spotlighting legends from Mancunian via Hull industrial pioneer Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV) and hard house trailblazer Tony De Vit, to contemporary trailblazers like Lil Nas X.
SCENE is delighted to have a 10-piece ensemble from the UK’s most relentlessly pioneering orchestra, Manchester Camerata, play LGBTQ+ artist Arthur Russell’s most beloved songs in new orchestrations alongside a screening of Matt Wolfe’s 2008 documentary Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell that charts his life and music. Camerata performed a similar socially distanced show back during the covid-19 pandemic, which sold out instantly.
Channel 4’s ‘First Dates’ is celebrating a decade of LGBTQ+ love stories, having recently marked 10 years of matchmaking on screen. First Dates restaurant staff member Aoife Smyth and Stephan Kyriacou, a dater who appeared on the show earlier this year will join host Scott Bryan on a panel to discuss the series, followed by a social and singles mixer brunch hosted by SCENE Festival.
Owain Wyn Evans will be hosting the previously announced Queer as Folk panel, and original cast member Carla Henry will be joining Russell T Davies, Nicola Shindler, and Denise Black to celebrate this iconic series.
Drag Race icon Divina DeCampo will host a 30th-anniversary screening of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, followed by a vibrant drag cabaret show parodying and celebrating beloved queer films and characters such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Elvira. Divina will be joined by top drag talents and DJs, including Liquorice Black and Gallifrey Cabaret’s Carrot, culminating in an unforgettable closing night party.
SCENE’s outdoor cinema at First Street will offer free, all-ages screenings of beloved musicals including The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Wiz.
Additional films featured as part of the festival include:
- Bonus Track: An original story by Josh O’Connor and Mike Gilbert about George, a struggling student whose musical dreams come alive with the help of Max, a peer with rock star lineage.
- A House is Not a Disco: This documentary uses home video, archival footage, and vibrant character portraits to explore the unique and radically queer community of Fire Island Pines.
- Lesvia: A nostalgic and colourful portrayal of Eressos, a sun-soaked village where women who love women have gathered since the late 1970s.
- The Summer With Carmen: At an Athens queer beach, best friends Demos and Nikitas recall a recent summer and how they might turn them into a screenplay for Nikitas’ feature debut.
- Solo: Emerging Montreal drag queen Simon must deal with two loves: a passionate yet competitive affair with a fellow drag queen and a cold relationship with his mother.
SCENE is also proud to present the amazing one-woman show Hayley and Me, written and performed by award-winning transgender performer Kate O’Donnell and delving into themes of visibility, expectations, LGBT progress, and the search for role models within the transgender community alongside the life story of Coronation Street’s iconic trans character Hayley Cropper. Kate will be joined by special guest Julie Hesmondhalgh (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) who played Hayley for 16 years.
In the emotional short documentary Life Is Excellent, Russell Tovey explores the life of David Robillard, the best queer British artist you may never have heard of. This screening is followed by a Q&A between the filmmakers and Tovey’s Talk Art podcast co-host Robert Diament.
The Iris Prize, the largest short film prize in the world, will screen its Best of 2023 short film programme, as well as free family short film screenings during the festival, and will host an elevator pitch workshop session designed to inspire film makers.
Further additions have also been made to The Pink Screening Room at YES, which will feature an eclectic mix of films, including:
- Desire Lines: Filmmaker Jules Rosskam explores the lines of desire as they intersect with identity for many trans men
- What’s Safe, What’s Gross, What’s Selfish and What’s Stupid: A thought-provoking film by Jasmine Johnson exploring their queer fertility journey
- India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency: A documentary following Rudrani Chettri’s mission to establish India’s first trans model agency
- TOPS: A satirical documentary exploring the experiences of four individuals who have undergone TOP surgery. TV host Amy Pennington leads the journey, attempting to make her first trans friend and addressing the trans masc experience with a mix of unscripted comedy and tender moments
- Backspot: An ambitious cheerleader faces new adversity when she and her girlfriend are selected for an all-star cheer squad with a demanding head coach in non-binary filmmaker D.W. Waterson’s feature debut.
Screenings and events will also happen across the city with new venue partners including Everyman, Aviva Studios and First Street joining HOME, New Century Hall, The People’s History Museum, YES and Vanilla.
SCENE Festival runs from August 16-22. Tickets and latest information can be found at are on sale now at www.scenefestival.com. All tickets are £15 and under, with many events being free to attend.
