Partnership with Thinking Film Ltd

Thinking Film's project to share the experiences of LGBT people across Merseyside to confront the homophobia and intolerance across the city.

In 2015 the Liverpool ONE Foundation awarded Thinking Film Ltd funding for an exceptional project working with young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) people, across Merseyside, who have experienced Homophobic, Biphobic or Transphobic (HBT) bullying.  

Out of Touch film

Out of Touch film

The project was a bold attempt to confront homophobia and intolerance across the city. In 2013/14 a hate crime targeting Merseyside’s LGBT community was reported every 24 hours with 359 such crimes being reported to the Police (with the real number of hate crime incidents likely to be much higher, as many go unreported).  

Danny Kilbride, Creative Director of Thinking Film, designed the project to give young people the chance to tell their stories in their own voice and highlight this shocking statistic. By narrating their stories on camera, Danny hopes that young people will feel that their experiences of bullying and harassment are valuable; that by shining a light on the unacceptable way they’ve been treated in the past, they will be able to better cope with the future.  

Danny’s film is to become a resource for local schools, complementing workshops around homophobia and sexuality more widely across the region, a fantastic achievement.  

Outcomes of the project:  

  • Six short films have been produced by young LGBT people.  
  • Educational resources mapped to the national curriculum have been developed.  
  • Forty young LGBT people have engaged in project delivery, informing resources. 
  • Fifteen young LGBT people became steering group members and will continue to support the project working with staff at GYRO to ensure the films and resources reach as many young people as possible.  
  • One hundred and fifty young people have received training, delivered by Chris Porter, at GYRO.  
  • 100% of young people taking part in training are more aware of issues affecting LGBT young people.  
  • Gyro an LGBT youth groups based in Liverpool City Centre has partnered with Thinking Film to ensure dissemination of the films and resource. 
Group 2