GenderShift Movie Nights

Join us for an evening of entertainment, discussion and understanding of Gender.

The GenderShift Movie Nights are a new way to explore gender issues. Funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, we host a entertaining evening every month in Hull and Grimsby where we show a movie that you probably will not have seen.

We have a great selection of movies with a gender theme that are seldom, if ever, shown on TV or the Cinema, including feature films and documentaries. Our movies have been selected because in some way they address gender issues or gender inequality.

The venues are selected to provide a social setting rather than a movie theatre so that you can have a drink and enjoy snacks while watching the movie, with friends.

Once the movie is over, we then spend about half hour or so dicussing the issues raised by the movie.

We usually bring along a selection of movies to each evening and allow the audience to decide which movie to watch - though as the movie club grows we will be asking members to let us have their preferences and recommendations by email.

Already we are beginning to discover new interesting movies seldom seen on TV or in Cinemas simply because they are not block busters. Themes will include transgender, gay, lesbian, masculinity, femininity, inequality, atypical gender, breaking stereotypes, international issues, disability, age, sexual orientation, harassment, violence, etc.

We will also be asking you to complete a questionnaire to let us know what issues and themes you would like at future film nights.

Movies we have watched so far include

Beautiful Boxer - a touching docu-drama about Nong Toom, a transsexual from Thailand who became champion Thai boxer in order to under her gender surgery attracting considerable outrage from the Thai boxing community

Breakfast on Pluto - a black comedy set in Northern Ireland featuring the life of Patrick Bradan - a young man increasingly expressing himself as a woman. The film explores attitudes to both gay and trans and the coping strategies.

Crying Game - One film that has often seen seen on TV - explores the developing relationship between an IRA activist and the "girlfriend" of one of his victims who is a preoperative transsexual. This film highlights the conflict between homophobia and personal physical attraction.

Boys on the Side - a bitter sweet comedy featuring Whoopie Goldberg as a black lesbian and her relationship with two friends - one constantly drawn to very masculine and men and the other a woman dying from aids following a one night stand with a bar man. The film explores a host of issues of gender attitudes and behaviours.

But I'm a Cheerleader - a wonderful spoof comedy with a powerful underlying message - A young girl struggling with her own sexual identity is sent to a religious rehab centre for "homosexuals" to cure them. The film is a huge send up of the issues and as a result enables every on to see the fallacies of trying to cure people of being gay.

Our rapidly growing library includes:

Kinky Boots, Beautiful Boxer, Soldiers Girl, Wilde, Ma Vie en Rose, Trans America, Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage Aux Folles, Baise Moi, Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith, Bound, My Beautiful Launderette, Normal, Just like a Woman, The Laramie Project, Wild Side, Boys Don’t Cry, Breakfast on Pluto, Crying Game, Queer as Folk, Naked Civil Servant, Before Stonewall, Middle Sexes, Bad Education, Stonewall, Bent, Farewell My Concubine, Eating Out, My Summer of Love, Paris is Burning... and many more.

Hull Movie Nights

Venue: Community Enterprise Centre, Cottingham Road Hull

Time: 6.30 pm for 7.00pm start - finish at 9.30 pm

Grimsby Movie Nights

Time: 6.30 pm for 7.00pm start - finish at 9.30 pm