film premiere about the first LGBT comedy club in 1970s America will raise the curtain on the second annual Telling Tales International Film and Audio Documentary Festival.
Telling Tales (8-10 June), supported by Manchester Metropolitan University, is the UK’s first and only film festival dedicated to both cinema and audio documentary.
Despite being the fastest growing area in non-fiction documentary, audio is not well represented at other film festivals.
Documentaries will be shown from an international panel of filmmakers on a variety of subjects, from a man’s quest to uncover the truth behind a Latin American rapper’s death, the remarkable story of a man with a learning disability who spent decades in the care system, and an elderly Irish woman’s journey to discover her uncle’s long lost grave. The full programme is available via the Telling Tales website.
Awards will be given in a host of categories, including for Grand Jury Prize Film and Grand Jury Prize Audio.
Dr Lisa Gold, Lecturer in Documentary and organiser of Telling Tales, said: “Telling Tales International Film and Audio Documentary Festival is a hub where stories are told, talent discovered, collaborations begin and the celebration of the best non-fiction work from across the globe.”
Nick Broomfield, the celebrated documentary filmmaker, said: “I love the idea of the Telling Tales [Festival] – that’s what filmmaking is all about. If this forum really offers that opportunity it is well worth attending. Forget the networking, concentrate on ‘telling tales’.”
The festival will open with the premiere of Stand Up, Stand Out (dir. David Pavlovsky), which follows three gay teachers’ fight for equal rights in 1970s San Francisco that led to the establishment of what is thought to be the United States’ first gay and lesbian comedy club.
Some of the other documentaries to be shown include:
Iron Glove Velvet Fist (audio) – Women who lived at and visited Greenham Common Women’s Peace camp share a story to help answer the question – was the protest at Greenham successful? Prod. Wynne Taffinder
Sisterly (film) – Nina and Lisa are two sisters destined to be the best of friends. When Lisa is diagnosed with autism at the age of two, Lisa’s voice disappears and she is unable to communicate. Nina and Lisa search for connection, intimacy and sisterhood despite the challenges of autism. Dir. Nina Vallado
The Illuminators (film) – The story of a Baltic German refugee who became Lapland’s father of light. Filmmaker Antti Haase takes us on a personal journey, learning about his father’s legacy. Baltic German refugee Gunnar Haase arrived in Finnish Lapland in 1945 to repair the destruction left by his compatriots after World War II. Antti’s father Hannu continued grandfather Gunnar’s mission to bring electricity to Lapland – the powerlines finally reaching the very last Lapland home in 1987. Rural electrification was an enormous undertaking; it brought modern life and equality to people still living in the harsh nature. And while the undertaking took a heavy toll, it also illuminated the way forward. Dir. Antti Hasse
Where Stars Are Born (audio) – Over eighty years since its doors first opened, ‘Mr Apollo’ Billy Mitchell reveals how the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York became one of the world’s most celebrated music venues, launching the careers of stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson and James Brown. Prod. Peter Shevlin
The festival is a programme presented by the Centre for Historical and Contemporary Documentary Practice and supported by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Tickets for the festival are available now.
