Pride in Belfast

As Belfast prepares for Pride weekend, this documentary reflects on the ‘hidden histories’ of the LGBTQI+ community in Northern Ireland. This year’s theme is ‘Come Out for Change,’ celebrating the legacy of those first 100 marchers in 1991 who can be seen in archive footage and more recent interviews in this 2013 film.

 This film talks about the question of how to record and commemorate these histories in a way that recognises the ordinariness of queer experience, without tokenising or separating it or turning it into a commodified industry. Although Pride is a celebration, it is also a protest – a reminder that, despite the progress we’ve made, equality is still some way off.

In The Secret’s Out, activists remember early moves towards legal and social equality, including Dudgeon vs the United Kingdom, the case against Section 11 heard before the European Court of Human Rights, with the UK government unwilling to intervene in Northern Irish politics (sound familiar?). Indeed, with the current political uncertainty around Brexit and the persistent refusal to grant legal equal status to same sex unions in Northern Ireland (unique in the UK), the call to ‘Come Out for Change’ remains a vital one.