Screening of films from the Something About Us Project

The two films made by the W.O.W group during the Something About Us project are screening at the Savoy Cinema for an end of project celebration and as part of LGBT History Month.

The event will start at 6pm with the two films screening from 6.30pm. There will be a Q&A with members of W.O.W about their experiences on the project and making the film. David Edgely from Nottinghamshire Rainbow Heritage will also be providing a historical presentation.

Something About Us is a project, funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund that has involved working with young people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender group W.O.W in Worksop. The project aimed to research and record what it was like historically to be LGBT. The group worked together to compare the past and the present-day, with a focus on the local area.

The project provided training in archive research, oral history and filmmaking techniques. Learning these skills gave the young LGBT people a voice; the ability to share the history they found, aiding local understanding of the LGBT community. The young people have produced a documentary film Something About Us using their oral history interviews and archive research findings, while recording their own on-going reflections of the research process on GoPro cameras and producing a separate reflective film W.O.Wing me, W.O.Wing you.

The young people have been on several trips including Nottinghamshire Pride, Nottinghamshire Archives, Sheffield Archives and Sheffield Local Studies. Documenting their journey as they learnt about their history.

The films are also screening at several other locations as part of LGBT History Month, which includes, Friday, February 12, at Sheffield Hallam University from 6pm, Friday, February 19, at Nottingham Archives at 2.30pm to 4.30pm and Tuesday, February 23, at Nottinghamshire’s Rainbow Heritage Awards 7pm to 9pm.

Managing Director of E.D.E.N Film Productions, Claire Watkinson said: “This has been a fantastic project that we have run since July 2015, involving the young people acquiring creative and historical skills while having lots of fun. The two films demonstrate how hard the young people have worked and we are excited to launch the films at Worksop’s Savoy Cinema.”

W.O.W Support Worker, Claire Bradley, said: “The young people are sad to see the end of the project having learnt many new skills in media and production and having learnt about their own and local LGBT history. The young people who have taken part in the project are proud of their efforts and have seen their confidence build over the months, not just in using the equipment and different types of media but also personally.”