''Rebel Dykes'' is a 2021 documentary film directed by Siân A. Williams and Harri Shanahan about the

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

scene in London during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2021 the film won the

Iris Prize The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex a ...

Best Feature Award, the Best Documentary Award at Pornfilmfestival Berlin, a Special Jury Mention at the

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival The KASHISH Pride Film Festival (earlier known as KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, also known as Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and Mumbai Queer Film Festival) is an annual LGBTQ event that has been held in Mumbai, I ...

, and was nominated for The Raindance Discovery Award at the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

and the Best Feature Film Award at the

Scottish BAFTA BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televis ...

. Siobhan Fahey set up Riot Productions to produce ''Rebel Dykes''.

Synopsis

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 Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest against nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began on 5 September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life ...

, the S&M club Chain Reaction, protests against the introduction of

Section 28 Section 28 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with t ...

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 The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a Grade II listed gay entertainment venue in Vauxhall, London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London's oldest surviving gay venue. History The RVT was built between 1860 and 1862 at Spring Gardens, Kennin ...

and covering a recent reminiscence gathering event at

DIY Space For London DIY Space for London was a volunteer-run social centre, music venue, rehearsal space, and creative hub formerly located at 96-108 Ormside Street in South Bermondsey, London. History The space opened in September 2015 after the founding collect ...

. The film also has a prominent soundtrack, with bands such as

Poison Girls The Poison Girls were an English anarcho-punk band from Brighton. The singer/guitarist, Vi Subversa, was a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, often from an anarchist pers ...

, The Brendas, The Sleeze Sisters, Sluts from Outer Space, Amy and the angels, Mouth Almighty, The Petticoats,

Sister George Sister George were an English band from London, recognised as being significant in the 1990s queercore scene, who formed in 1993. Naming, genre and lineup The group's name was inspired by the 1968 film ''The Killing of Sister George'', which ...

, Well Oiled Sisters and the Gymslips being mentioned and their music included to narrate the story.

Cast

Del LaGrace Volcano Del LaGrace Volcano (born July 26, 1957) is an American artist, performer, and activist from California. A formally trained photographer, Volcano's work includes installation, performance and film and interrogates the performance of gender on seve ...

* Debbie Smith *

Lisa Power Lisa Power MBE is a British sexual health and LGBT rights campaigner. She was a volunteer for Lesbian & Gay Switchboard and Secretary General of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. She co-founded the Pink Paper and Stonewall, la ...

Roz Kaveney Roz Kaveney (born 9 July 1949) is a British writer, critic, and poet, best known for her critical works about pop culture and for being a core member of the Midnight Rose collective. Kaveney's works include fiction and non-fiction, poetry, revi ...

Reception

The film received a 100% rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 12 reviews, as of 04 Nov 2024.

Rebel Dykes History Project

Aside from the film, the ''Rebel Dykes History Project'' has been a longer project made up of oral histories, art exhibitions, other short films and more. Alongside the film release, the ''Rebel Dykes Art & Archive Show exhibition'' was held at

Space Station Sixty-Five Rachael House is a British multi-disciplinary artist, based in London and Whitstable. Her work has been displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum and she was guest artist at the "Feminism and Gender" exhibition at the New Hall Art Collectio ...

gallery in Kennington, south London in 2021. It was curated by Atalanta Kernick, with Kat Hudson from ''Lesley Magazine''. The Rebel Dykes Archive is held at the

Bishopsgate Library Bishopsgate Library , now known as Bishopgate Institute's Special Collections and Archives is an independent, charity-funded library located within the Bishopsgate Institute in the City of London. Description The library's particular strengths ...

Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate area east of the City of London. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, courses for adults, historic library and archive collections, and a ...

, London.

References

External links

* *https://www.wmm.com/film/rebel-dykes/ * Documentary films about lesbians Documentary films about LGBTQ culture 2021 independent films 2021 films 2020s English-language films Lesbian culture in England 2021 LGBTQ-related films British LGBTQ-related documentary films English-language documentary films English-language independent films {{2020s-UK-film-stub