Bristol filmmaker brings his acclaimed first feature to Watershed

Shank complements ten titles from the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on Tour (Sun 5 - Wed 29 July

Simon Pearce, the 21-year-old Kingswood-born director of the Bristol-based new film Shank will be at Watershed on Sat 18 July at 2030hrs for an exclusive preview of his film followed by a Q & A with its Bristol cast and crew.

This special event complements the 23rd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on Tour at Watershed from Sun 5 – Wed 29 July, where ten of the very best lesbian and gay titles from around the world will be showcased for everyone to enjoy. Watershed is delighted to play host to the cast and crew of local production Shank, a gritty coming-of-age tale about Cal, a young gang member, who struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality in a vicious world of drugs, crime and random acts of violence.

Simon Pearce watches the monitor while directing Shank

Shot in Bristol on a miniscule budget, the film has been screened at film festivals in over 25 cities worldwide and received rave reviews. Its young director just recently collected the award for Best Emerging New Talent in Queer cinema at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival so make sure you take this opportunity to question a filmmaker on the cusp of a remarkable breakthrough.

The London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on Tour kicks off on Sun 5 July with a screening of documentary Before Stonewall, a remarkable and hugely important account of the difficult history of homosexuality and homophobia from the early 1920s to the epochal aftermath of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, considered by many the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement.

The season covers a huge breadth of the lesbian and gay experience – from dealing with HIV (Pedro), the traumas of teen love (Dolls and Dream Boy) and gay adoption (Baby Love) to the difficulty experienced coming out (Nighthawks and To Each Her Own) and the excitement of a new relationship (Ghosted).

Watershed is proud to welcome the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on Tour, which brings the most exceptional international lesbian and gay titles to Bristol. We are particularly pleased to welcome the Bristol cast and crew of Shank for what promises to be an informative and engrossing preview/Q & A and look forward to seeing lots of local support for a very interesting first feature. Mark Cosgrove, Watershed's Head of Programme