Queer life comes in all shapes and sizes from the noise and lights of a club to the tenderness of curling up together on a sofa. Whatever form it takes though, being able to find a moment of joy when it can be difficult to do so is always worth recognising, including onscreen, which is why we’ve curated a collection of short films which celebrate these moments.
Are you aged 18-25 and interested in Queer stories, film programming and putting on events?
We’re looking for a group of 18-25 year olds to take part in a series of workshops looking at some examples of queer joy on screen and to think about what joy means to you and how you can share that joy. Led by film programmers Rebecca Ballard (Queer Vision Film Festival) and Ren Scateni (Encounters Film Festival), you’ll learn how you can use film to create a moment of joy for an audience
Over the course of a workshop and follow-up session, you’ll learn what the process of programming a film event involves, build up your programming skills and develop your own event around a series of short films exploring queer joy as a starting point. You’ll work as a group to come up with an event that will accompany the screening of those films. It could be a panel discussion or a party, or anything in between, it’ll be up to you to decide.
Once you’ve come up with an idea, you’ll work to make your event a reality. You won’t have to do it alone though, as you’ll have plenty of support from the Queer Vision, Encounters and BFI Film Academy South West teams. Your event will then take place at Watershed this summer as part of Queer Vision Film Festival during Bristol Pride and will be open to the public so you’ll be able to share the queer joy you’ve produced!
You don’t need any past experience in filmmaking or curation to take part, all we’re looking for is a passion for making sure queer voices are heard and an eagerness to share queer stories with the public. This is a free opportunity and all workshops will take place in Watershed, in Bristol’s Harbourside, and we can provide travel bursaries to enable getting to and from Watershed.
To sign up, tell us a little bit about you on this form below before Friday 13th May. If you have any questions about the opportunity or the application process email info@bristolpride.co.uk or film.academy@watershed.co.uk.
Timeline:
Monday 13th May: applications close
Wednesday 25th May, 6 – 9 pm: First workshop and viewing of Queer Joy films
June, date TBC: follow up meeting to support event production
25th June – 10th July: Bristol Pride and Queer Vision Film Festival events take place
* Applications are now closed *