REBEL DYKES is a rabble-rousing documentary set in 1980s post-punk London. The unheard story of a community of dykes who met doing art, music, politics and sex, and how they went on to change their world.
DOCUMENTARY | ENGLISH | 92 MINS
Dir. Harri Shanahan and Siân A. Williams
Produced by Siobhan Fahey
'REBEL DYKES arrives in all its ass-kicking, leather-wearing glory. The film follows a tight-knit group of friends who met at Greenham Common peace camp and went on to become artists, performers, musicians and activists in London.
A heady mash-up of animation, archive footage and interviews tells the story of a radical scene: squatters, BDSM nightclubs, anti-Thatcher rallies, protests demanding action around AIDS and the fierce ties of chosen family. This is an extraordinarily privileged glimpse into a bygone world by those who not only lived out their politics with heartfelt conviction but lived to tell the tale.'
JAY BERNARD, Programmer, BFI Flare 2021
SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS
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Nominated: Best Feature Film at the Scottish BAFTA Awards
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Best Feature Winner, Queen Bee Lesbian Film Festival, Brazil
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Feature Film Winner, Iris Prize, Cardiff UK
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Best Documentary, MiX 35 Film Festiva, Italy
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Special Jury Mention, Best Documentary Feature, Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, India
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Best Documentary, Porn Film Festival, Berlin
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Best Documentary, GAZE, Dublin
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Best Documentary, Some Prefer Cake Film Festival, Italy
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BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, London
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Frameline Film Festival, SF
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NewFest - The New York LGBT Film Festival
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Outfest - Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
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Revelation Perth International Film Festival
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Roze Filmdagen: Amsterdam LGBTQ+ Film Festival
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Edinburgh International Film Festival
BROADCAST
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Channel 4 UK, June 2022 (plus C4 streamer)
THEATRICAL
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UK Cinema Release, November 2021
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“This boisterous oral history of a little-known underground London lesbian scene which spawned from a collision between punk and feminism is a blast”
- SCREENDAILY
“a rousing documentation of anarchic lesbian power set against the backdrop of Eighties England'
- EVENING STANDARD
“a hugely entertaining and unique documentary”
- THE FILM MAGAZINE
“this film serves as a fast-paced look at the meeting point between punk and LGBT+ activism”
- NME
“this invaluable relic of queer history is a blessing and a gift to all dykes everywhere”
- LESFLICKS
“Delightfully sex-positive, richly detailed, and lovingly-crafted”
- THE QUEER REVIEW
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