Rebel Dykes

We had a very crowded showing of this movie at my local queer bar last night. Been a while since i've experienced a crowd laughing, hooting and hollering like this, the movie was such a blast from start to finish. Now that's what a good documentary can be - entertaining, real, energizing and profoundly moving. Hats off to the movie makers who managed to find all this footage (movie clips, audio clips, photographies, zines, artworks...) of a bygone era that, to our pretty sanitized and commercialized queer landscape of the 2020s, feels alien and tantalizing. Humbling to acknowledge the continuity of fights, both inwards and outwards. The interviewed people were such wonderful personalities, each given room to shine their own special spotlight on this troubled era. I already want to rewatch this!

Rough and ready with a massive heart, the film is not only a fascinating piece of social history but also really great fun to watch. You'll wish you were there in the 1980s with the gals and bois of the Bell, Chain Reaction and the other pre-queer club nights and venues of a lost London. The film is also testament to the power of crowd funding and the resilience and resourcefulness of filmmakers who work independently on tiny budgets across many months and years to turn their grand passion into something which can be shared with audiences around the world. Rebel Dykes has shown at film festivals, won prizes, been in cinemas and now on television. Bravo ladies!

This film was amazing. The combination of animation and live action interviews with the women involved in the movement was amazing. The story of these women was so unknown to me I found it moving and revelatory. The prejudice they faced was horrendous and their bravery and activism and commitment to hedonism and activism was amazing. Highly recommend.

An engaging watch, Rebel Dykes captures the reflections and accounts of lesbians who refused to embrace traditional stereotypes in order to express their own identities and instead kickstarted their own scene and fought for queer rights. With the instigators discussing their experiences of coming out and finding their tribe, plus the use of photographs, wonderful animation and eye-popping footage from haunts like The Bell and the infamous Chain Reaction club, a vital piece of queer history has been captured. It is no wonder that this film has had the reception it truly deserves, and will continue to astound and inspire.

Fierce, feminist and punk film showing the absolute riot that the rebel dykes were living in 80s London. A desperately needed piece of lesbian history and a reminder of how much lesbians have done for the LGBTQ+ community.

Its a fun and raunchy documentary, that doesn't shy away from the tougher aspects of being queer.