REBEL DYKES is a rabble-rousing documentary set in 1980s post-punk London, UK. 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.
The documentary follows a tight-knit group of friends who met at Greenham Common peace camp and became artists, performers, musicians and activists in London. A hot, heady, punky, sexy mash-up of animation, previously unseen rare archive footage and new 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 families.
Event/ This is a special Reclaim The Frame screening on Sat 27 Nov 6pm which includes a post-screening discussion hosted by Rebel Dykes executive producer and Birds’ Eye View director, Melanie Iredale with filmmakers Harri Shanahan & Siân A. Williams plus producer Siobhan Fahey.
As part of this screening there will also be an opportunity to continue the Rebel Dykes discussion and to socialise in the HOME bar following the event.
Reclaim The Frame is a mission to bring ever-greater audiences to films by women and non-binary filmmakers, to widen and enrich cinema’s perspective of the world, run by charity Birds’ Eye View, and backed by the BFI’s Audience Fund.
TICKETS FROM: https://homemcr.org/event/rebel-dykes-event/
Review/ Rebel Dykes is a is well put-together, fast-paced, irreverent, energetic film, full of humour, pathos, politics in-fighting - feminists policing other feminists and holding them up to their own exacting standards as it asks: "What constitutes a 'real' feminist'?" It’s an important chapter in British social-cultural history that everyone should know about, particularly given the current explosion in identity politics and its attendant problems, for which the film can provide some historical broader context. The film captures the angst, energy, the creative freedom of commune living from the POV of a subculture battling on multiple fronts against both oppressive Thatcherism and proscriptive feminism. It strongly conveys how sex became a political act during this period addressing these issues with good blend of seriousness and humour, challenging both the old myth of the sexless and humourless lesbian-feminist: dildos minus the balls debate, twenty ways to hold hands passionately (the traditional lesbian sex guide), messy wrestling with all manner of different substances etc. An important, inspiring film that everyone should see. The post-punk soundtrack is a winner, too!