Screening of the film and discussion: Beyond ‘There’s Always a Black Issue, Dear’

When the film, Beyond ‘There’s Always a Black Issue, Dear’, was released in 2018, it brought to life how Black queer people in the 1980s have contributed to our popular culture. Join us and our panel of queer activists, artists and filmmakers as we explore how fringe and counter cultures from the 1980s still play a significant role today and how trans people more generally have been portrayed recently in British culture.

Guests will be invited to watch the award-winning film, Beyond ‘There’s Always a Black Issue, Dear’ (30 mins), which highlights how a group of young Black bi, gay, and trans people living in Thatcher’s Britain exerted influence that endures to this day. Without knowing it at the time, these pioneers have shaped our popular culture and offered an enduring legacy to a far greater extent than cultural historians and commentators have acknowledged.Participants will have access 48 hours before the panel discussion to watch the film at their leisure before joining us online in an engaging and entertaining discussion with our panel of queer activists, artists and filmmakers.

Our panellists include:

• Campbell X: writer/director who directed the award-winning queer film Stud Life voted by the Guardian as one of the top 10 Black British feature films ever made.
• Claire Lawrie: visual artist and director of the film Beyond ‘There’s Always a Black Issue, Dear.’
• Fox Fisher: award winning artist, author, filmmaker and trans rights campaigner. Fox co-founded My Genderation, a film project that celebrates trans lives and experiences.
• Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir: journalist, filmmaker, author and non-binary trans activist. They regularly contribute to a range of British publications, including The Guardian, The Independent and Metro.
• Winn Austin, actress, performer, and one of the stars of Beyond ‘There’s Always a Black Issue, Dear’ . She is co-founder of My Size, a lingerie brand for trans feminine and gender non-conforming people.

This event has been organised by Chiara Beccalossi & Chris O’Rourke with the assistance of Laura Fernández-González from the School of History & Heritage and the School of Film & Media, University of Lincoln, UK and supported by the Transitional States project funded by the Welcome Trust.