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.
REBEL DYKES (2021)
(Dir. Siân A Williams & Harri Shanahan)
Feature Documentary
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.
Winner of the IRIS best feature documentary award
2021 and broadcast on Channel 4. Available now on 4OD.
For bookings email:
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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