Blackpool’s newest multi-artform festival, Queer Amusements, lit up the North-West from April to September 2024. A new short film from Tiktok Award nominee James Barnett (best known for his channel @makemeaoffer with parents Teresa and Michael), Queers in Blackpool, shines a light on the people who were involved, the town it took place in, and what happens next.
Drawing from interviews with participating artists and collaborators, performance footage, photography and playfully camp glances at Blackpool’s long histories of entertaining (from Orville the Duck to Gemma Collins), Queers in Blackpool acts as a snapshot of a festival which looks to bring new art and ideas to one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities in the UK.
Featuring interviews with Aish Bell-Docherty, Sam Bell-Docherty, Joe Booth, Laura Catlow, Jane Claire Bradley, Harry Clayton-Wright, Miss Titty Kaka, Catherine Mugonyi and David Sheppeard, Queers in Blackpool comes loaded with behind-the-scenes footage, stolen kettles, incredible shop signs, Cinderella’s carriage and beautiful insight into Blackpool’s queer scene from the people at its heart.
Queers in Blackpool, which is produced by Queer Amusements, had its World Premiere at Blackpool Film Festival (BFF) in November 2024, playing before beloved queer classic, Female Trouble.
All images by James Barnett.