Blue Jean

In 1988 queer people’s lives were upended across Britain when the Conservative government enacted ‘Section 28’, which aimed to ‘prohibit the promotion of homosexuality’ in Local Authorities. Writer-Director Georgia Oakley’s vividly realised debut feature is set at this turning point in British history. High school teacher Jean hadn’t thought her sexuality was of interest to her colleagues. But now with the new law, workplace suspicion gathers, and Jean faces a dilemma when she meets a vulnerable gay new student. An amazingly accurate evocation of late-’80s northern Britain, and a future queer classic.

I read an article about a group of lesbians who had abseiled, in early 1988, into the House of Lords from the public gallery during a debate on Section 28. And I was struck by this amazing image, and what might have led up to this event, historically. But I was also amazed that I’d never heard about this law, despite the fact that it wasn’t repealed till 2003. I started thinking about the impact it would have had on gay teachers, but also the indelible mark it had left on my life, without my knowing of its existence.

Director Georgia Oakley, from an interview with Women and Hollywood