When mers and gay activists uned: the real story of the film Pri | Pri | The Guardian

Contents:

• WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
• PRI REVIEW – WHEN GAY ACTIVISTS STCK A AL WH MERS
• COAL MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS PARTNER IN 'PRI'
• A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY
• LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85
• PRI: A HEARTBREAKG BRISH COMEDY ABOUT THE TIME GAYS AND MERS WORKED TOGETHER
• THE EBULLIENT PRI PAIRS MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS ’80S WAL

WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI

" He acknowledg now that this is a le you n only e once a pch and explas that he went on to tell the story of mers the Dulais valley South Wal durg the 1984-5 strike – the longt Brish history – and a gay and lbian group om London that donated more money (£11, 000 by December 1984) to their e than any other fundraiser the UK, along wh a mib emblazoned wh the logo LGSM: Lbians and Gays Support the a when a gree of homophobia was the norm, LGSM drove a uple of mib om Hackney Communy Transport and a clapped-out VW mper van to a bleak mg town South Wal to prent their donatns, uncerta what sort of wele to expect. Three years later and the film, shot Banwen, Wal, and London, and directed by Tony-wng Matthew Warch (rponsible for Matilda the Mil, and soon to be artistic director of the Old Vic), is might assume a rom about strikg mers and 80s gays was unlikely to be big box-office, but the same was probably said of Billy Ellt.

"In the homema LGSM documentary, we also glimpse a tall, handsome fellow wearg groovy leather troers, shakg a donatns bucket outsi Gay's the Word bookshop London's Marchmont Street – this is Jonathan Blake. One hope is that the film might revive polil tert bee the activism of the left has been siled, the tra unns are weak, gay rights issu aren't there.

A special anniversary was held for the Lbians and Gays Support the Mers’ group and the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valley Mers Support Group who hadn’t seen each other sce the 1984 mers’ strike that brought them together. Their support for the strike prompted the Natnal Unn of Mers to mpaign for the rights of gay people and mand that sexual equaly be clud the program of the Labour Party. The real protagonists were surprised by the film’s mercial succs: 30 years later, a tearjerker about the class stggle beme an ternatnal blockbter, while tellg the te story of Lbians and Gays Support the Mers.

PRI REVIEW – WHEN GAY ACTIVISTS STCK A AL WH MERS

Your story has also spired a new anizatn, Lbians and Gays Support the Migrants, which not only llects money for migrant projects but has also ma a name for self wh darg actns, cludg the blocka of an airplane on which refuge were beg ported. It still puzzl me that exploative pani n march pri paras and prent themselv as gay-iendly while treatg their workers, cludg their LGBT staff, atrocly. On the eveng of March 28, 2017, 15 activists cludg Lbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) cut a hole the fence surroundg London’s Standsted Airport.

Mark Ashton, a gay man and member of the Young Communist League, said that “prevly I had this semi-antagonistic attu towards the anized labour movement, tra unns, macho het bully boys.

The mers and lbian and gay activists found they had much mon, cludg mistreatment by police, misreprentatn the media, and direct attacks om the nservative ernment.

COAL MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS PARTNER IN 'PRI'

At London’s Gay Pri March on 30 June, leftie activist Mark Ashton (played by Ben Schzer) argu that lbian and gay people should support the mers – for both groups are opprsed by the ernment and the tabloid prs.

It do, however, make accurate nods to the historil ntext, quotg the notor words of Manchter chief nstable Jam Anrton scribg gay men “swirlg about a human csp of their own makg”, and showg the Department of Health’s Don’t Die of Ignorance mercial. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Bill Nighy (centre) was uned wh his Pri -stars at the London premiereThe 1984 mers' strike and the gay rights movement may seem like unlikely on-screen partners - but their g together Matthew Warch's film Pri has produced, acrdg to actor Bill Nighy, "the most important Brish film of recent years" Nighy is one of the stars of the movie, which documents the te story of how Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) groups beme the biggt fancial supporters of the mers, who went on strike for more than a year 1984, prott agast wispread p closur.

Pri foc on one London group of lbian and gay activists, who "adopted" a mg muny south Wal, spe ial spicn and prejudice om Stnton, Paddy Conside, Domic Wt and Andrew Stt - Moriarty TV's Sherlock - are also part of the ensemble st.

A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY

If you were asked by your grandchildren what velopments your lifetime ma you most proud, one of them might be the civil rights movement Ameri and the other would be the emancipatn of gay men and women. "You have to remember that Pri is set 30 years ago and the Gay Pri march weren't a celebratn or Mardi Gras, they were polil events that would see protters beaten up by the police.

"What is so funny is that we are makg a film about failure - bee the mers ultimately lost their battle - but we do feature a scene the film of the Gay Pri march London 1985. The full might of the Natnal Unn of Meworkers showed up for the first time history to that march, and that was a direct rult of the gay rights movement and their fundraisg.

Image source, PublicyImage ptn, Imelda Stnton and Domic Wt show how the te life events picted Pri reveal the steely spir of the mers and their supporters"The followg year gay rights beme enshred the Labour Party nstutn, and that aga was a direct rult of the events we show Pri.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85

There is a phoric fiance this impassned and lovable film, which premiered at Cann earlier this year, based on the te story of pneerg gay mpaigners London who supported the strikg mers 1984, and so dog had to overe tribal spicns among both London’s gay muny and the mers of south Wal.

PRI: A HEARTBREAKG BRISH COMEDY ABOUT THE TIME GAYS AND MERS WORKED TOGETHER

Warch’s film mak the se that the strike was not simply a Light-Briga charge to oblivn but a triumphant spur to gay rights and human rights, self-rpect and Schzer giv a gutsy performance as Mark Ashton, the mpaigner who cis to break out of what he se as the parochialism of gay polics and support the mers. He fac spicn om those who see mers as a macho tribe who wouldn’t lift a fger to help gay rais some sh and fds a sympathetic Welsh mg lear to accept : a dignified and telligent performance om Paddy Conside as Dai.

Coal mers and gay activists — two groups that, 1980s England at least, you might have figured would steer clear of each other — partner surprisgly effectively the real-life story that's affectnately fictnalized Pri.

Gay activists work to help mers durg their lengthy strike of the Natnal Unn of Meworkers the summer of productn, box office & pany Vios56More like thisReview Solidary forever! Some of even film is unashamedly polil, both s reprentatn of the prejudice agast homosexuals at a time was AIDS was vastatg the gay muny and the hostily of misters, media and police to the mers' fight to keep ps open, but the treatment ensur that this is an immensely entertag and often very funny work.

THE EBULLIENT PRI PAIRS MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS ’80S WAL

Although the movie wears s polil heart on s sleeve, avoids an over-simplistic portrayal of the gay e by showg entrenched opposn to their volvement the mers dispute om sectns of the Welsh muny and challenge om gays themselv as to why they should be volved a workers' strike, although the ntroversy of the lack of a ballot thorisg the strike self is script is a triumph wh every le makg an impact and tellg somethg and there are some wonrful jok.

Although GLSM was eventually shunned by the official strike mtee and the mers lost the strike and almost all of Bra's ps have subsequently closed, the ncludg scen of the film and the fal bs of rmative text turn this historic teractn to a succs that should spire the prent day gay muny and labour movement alike.

Blake, an actor om London, was part of an unlikely missn: A small group of gays and lbians were on their way to liver money and food they had llected for a town of mers who were on strike to fight p closgs proposed by Prime Mister Margaret Thatcher. Blake, who is played by Domic Wt (“The Wire”), as well as several mers and their wiv, portrayed by the lik of Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”) and the Osr nomee Imelda Stnton (“Vera Drake”) the yearlong strike by the Natnal Unn of Meworkers is still wily remembered Bra, as both a high pot of Thatcherism and the begng of the end of the untry’s tra unn movement, neher the creators of “Pri” nor s leadg actors were aware of the helpg hand om the gay aln back then, they said recent terviews. Warch — bt known as a theater director for the hs “Matilda the Mil” and “God of Carnage” — also sought to avoid easy lghs om the strange-bedfellows plot, for stance, by askg the actors to drop their enargly nervo grs the scene where the gay activists arrive at the mers’ rult is a film that tak a light touch to s eply polil and heart-tuggg ntent, stead offerg a closely observed character study that by s tears hontly.

Berford, who was 10 years old when the mers’ strike began, said the spiratn for “Pri” me the mid-1990s, when he was havg an argument wh an olr boyiend about whether gays were a polil force.

”He thought would make a great film that uld have mastream appeal, given that the movie is as much as about the straight mers as the gay activists. Berford’s first feature, yet he had no clear ia how to wre GordonHe did know about a rough documentary about the group, Lbians and Gays Support the Mers, but that film did not intify s terview subjects and only listed a few nam the creds.