The Rainbow Screen is a monthly LGBTQIA+ film night, celebrating cinema and providing space for everyone.
REBEL DYKES is a full-length documentary about the explosion that happened when punk met feminism, told through the lives of a gang of lesbians in the riotous London of the 1980s.
The film is a documentary, the narrative told by the cast, with archive footage, images and animation (the latter created by Harri Shanahan).The history covers some of the cast’s experiences at the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp,the S&M club Chain Reaction, protests against the introduction of Section 28 including the lesbian invasion on the BBC, abseilers into the House of Lords and the impact of AIDS on the LGBTQ+ community as well as the homophobia of the era. It goes on to follow the women into their current lives, some living on women’s communes, still performing drag cabaret at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern and covering a recent reminiscence gathering event at DIY Space For London.
The film also has a prominent soundtrack, with bands such as Poison Girls, The Brendas, The Sleeze Sisters, Sluts from Outer Space, Amy and the angels, Mouth Almighty, The Petticoats, Sister George, Well Oiled Sisters and the Gymslips being mentioned and their music included to narrate the story.
The screening will follow with a Q&A with guest speaker, Siobhan Fahey, producer of Rebel Dykes and co-founder of indie film collective Riot Productions.