For those of you who have not had the uncomfortable pleasure of watching the recent hit movie, Blue Jean, we urge you to do so. This exceptional film debut focuses on the prejudices and intolerance towards the LGBTQ+ scene enforced by the government during the 1980’s, and one woman’s struggle for survival during this dark time.
Blue Jean writer/director Georgia Oakley's remarkable debut film stars Rosy McEwen (National Theatre’s Othello) in a torrid tale of discrimination against gays.
The narrative takes place in the U.K,1988. Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government are in the process of passing Section 28, a new law stigmatising gays and lesbians, forbidding promotion of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle, forcing Jean, a PE teacher at a secondary school north-east of England, to begin a secret, double life.
Jean is a woman caught in an uncomfortable dichotomy. In addition to her conservative teaching position, she’s also new to the lesbian scene, busy enjoying a fledgling romance with Viv (Kerrie Hayes) whilst finding her place within a community of louder, prouder lesbians. For Jean, the separation of work and life is a crucial but increasingly difficult task which proves precarious not only for herself but for those around her. The pressure increases from every direction until the arrival of a new girl at school catalyses a world of destruction that will turn Jean’s life upside down.
An astonishing and harrowing debut feature from Oakley, Blue Jean encapsulates a very specific and monumental time in LGBTQ+ British history with a fierce and increasingly uncomfortable accuracy.
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