Q&A of Ted & Noel in partnership with Film Pride
Back in August 2024, to mark the start of Pride weekend in Brighton, we hosted a special screening of the Iris Prize-nominated short Ted & Noel (2023) at the Lighthouse Project Space. This was followed by an in-depth Q&A with the Film Director, Julia Alcamo, and the star of the documentary, Ted Brown, hosted by Fez of our Future Creative Leaders cohort and Deborah Espect from Film Pride.
The documentary follows LGBTQ+ and civil rights activist Ted Brown, one of the early members of the UK Gay Liberation Front (GLF), where he helped organise the first-ever Pride march in London in 1972. Ted, a 72-year-old activist of Jamaican heritage, has spent his adult life fighting for queer and black identities. As millions celebrate London Pride’s 50th anniversary, Ted is adoring the attention around the landmark event he helped to create. But hidden behind the photoshoots and ceremonies is an angry, grieving man. Ted has just lost the love of his life, Noel, to dementia. Worse, Noel had experienced severe homophobic abuse from care home staff during his final days, leaving Ted to mount one last campaign for LGBTQ+ rights.
The Q&A offered us an insight into Ted's lived experience, the practical things we can do to stop oppression of this kind from continuing and how can we support Queer ageing folk in the UK.
In a moment of serendipity, local Queer Historian and Author Alf Le Flohic (pictured below with Ted) was in the audience at the Nights In event. He met with Ted afterwards and organised for him to be at the front of the 2024 Brighton pride parade, and joined him for the march! It was truly a full circle moment, that acknowledged the importance of queer elders and the work that they did and are still doing to to pave the way for LGBTQI+ rights.
Listen back below to the audio recording of the Q&A portion of the evening. This event was programmed by our Future Creative Leaders (FCL).
Content information:
Please be aware this recording and transcript contain descriptions of violence and abuse.
We apologise for the poor quality of the audio recording, which was due to the mic levels on the night.
ABOUT OUR FUTURE CREATIVE LEADERS & OUR FUNDERS
Future Creative Leaders (FCL) is a 12-month paid programme offering young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to work closely with Lighthouse's leadership team to explore various aspects of creative leadership. Funded and supported by Art Fund’s ‘Reimagine Grants’ and Chalk Cliff Trust, over the year, participants will co-curate programmes, select participants for mini-residencies, and recruit their successors, all while exploring alternative governance structures, accountability, and power-sharing.
