'Life in the 1980s? Well... it was exciting, it was scary, it was fun, it was poor, it was a great time and a terrible time to be young and queer in London.' Debbie Smith

Join us for a screening of Rebel Dykes (2021), a rabble-rousing documentary set in 1980s post-punk London. Combining archival footage, animation and the testimonies of those who lived it, the film tells 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. Through their own words, we follow them as they make art, start bands and set up the world’s first women’s SM club.

Directed by Siân A Williams & Harri Shanahan, this film is part of Rebel Dykes History Project, an archive and creative project focusing on the heritage of a group of young lesbians who lived in London in the 1980s. In working with artists, academics, musicians, filmmakers, and lesbian and bisexual women (cis/trans/nb), they aim to reignite and reinvent the Rebel Dykes community in order to fight isolation amongst younger and older dykes and allies.