SHOUT Festival 2020 launches
midlandsmovies • September 30, 2020
SHOUT Festival 2020 launched
Today SHOUT Festival announced their 11th festival programme, which this year has evolved and is taking place entirely online.
Aptly named ‘SHOUT at Home’, the festival features over 30 events and a film programme that speaks to issues relevant to the LGBTQIA+ community right now.
Funded by Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery fund and BFI FAN Film Hub Midlands and sponsored by Southside District, Browne Jacobson, and Galliard Homes, SHOUT aims to produce an inclusive and accessible festival, prioritising the health and safety of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The packed programme includes bespoke digital performances by Barry Fitzgerald and Victor Esses and a special talk with Amrou Al-Kadhi alongside spoken word, Q&A sessions, explorations of culture and identity, glitter and even a bath with a mer-man-maid.
Other highlights include the award-winning Queer House Party, Birmingham’s premier vogue house ‘HOUSE OF BAB’, a takeover by Midlands-based queer experimental music collective QUE.E.F, and a performance by the incredible family inclusive Fantabulousa.
This year SHOUT is working collaboratively with CineQ Queer Film Festival, bringing a new fuller film programme to the festival audiences, some of which was due to be screened when CineQ had to cancel due to COVID-19 earlier this year.
The film programme boasts 9 feature films and 5 short film programmes, with titles including one of the earliest depictions of a queer person of colour in Portrait of Jason, the Iris Prize shortlisted My God, I’m Queer, and the BFI Flare selected Pride and Protest.
The main programme is entirely free, whilst the film programme costs just £4 for access to all the films. There are also amazing zines created by Holly Revell from her project ‘People Like Us’ which are available for purchase throughout the festival.
SHOUT Festival Manager Rico Johnson-Sinclair said, “This year is as much about the artists as it is about the audience. We want to inspire artists and give them the resources to reimagine performance in a digital space, so we’ve funded nine micro commissions and a new artist in residence from the region. Festivals need to evolve to reflect current times, as well attracting audiences who have previously felt excluded. Inclusive means everyone, and we’re working towards that goal.
This festival is very experimental and is our first venture into the unknown. For us and for the artists, this is a really exciting moment”.
The full programme will be available from the 30th September 2020 at 6 pm on SHOUT Festival’s website (shoutfestival.co.uk) and the detailed film programme will be available on CineQ’s website (cineqbirmingham.co.uk).
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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