In 1991, Derek Jarman sets out to adapt Edward II — a gay love story with a bloody ending — into a film that will speak directly to the homophobia of the era. New legislation threatens to criminalise consenting gay behaviour, and the tabloids are baying for blood.
Recently diagnosed with HIV and unwilling to play nice, Jarman throws his lot in with the radicals. He casts fellow activists from OutRage! as extras and channels the energy of injustice and protest into his film.
Young cameraman Seamus McGarvey captures a buzzing, joyful set: a pack of beagles let loose, drag nuns on a smoke break, an impromptu naked rugby scrum. Meanwhile, Jarman courts controversy from all sides, chastising fellow activists in print and getting himself arrested at OutRage! demos.
What begins as a low-budget period drama spirals into a scandal when OutRage! storm a neighbouring sound-stage of a well-known pop star to hand him “the keys to the closet.” The tabloids quickly catch wind, sending the production into panic.
At the centre of the ensuing debate on privacy and protest is Jarman, mischievous, uncompromising — and living on borrowed time. As the shoot wraps, his importance to his filmmaking family comes into focus. And in an epilogue, a vote on gay rights erupts into a full-blown riot, driven on by Jarman’s defiant spirit.
“The films are of no consequence, and no interest. What is of interest is law reform, and to give solidarity to other people. That’s the only reason for making them in this way. But it’s a very good reason. It leaves my peers with no good reason except their vanity in their attempt to make a good film. I have another agenda…”
— Derek Jarman
Queer Edward II is a Lightborn Films production, in association with March 13th and John Gore Studios, directed by Theo Rollason.
The archival documentary will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 4th September, and will also screen in the documentary competition at the BFI London Film Festival in October.
Photo © Seamus McGarvey / Lightborn Films