Pride

It’s so a tale so warm-hearted, it’s surprising that it has taken three decades to make it onto the big screen. Set during the 1984-’85 miners’ strike, Pride tells the true story of an unlikely and little-remembered fundraising effort: the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) movement. The Mining Union are not overly thrilled with their benefactors, and the donations are initially rejected. In a move which would seem laughable were it fiction, some of the group take a minibus to a Welsh village and convince the community to accept the money.

What follows is genuinely heart-warming, as two marginalised communities come to understand one another. Pride avoids gushiness: Stephen Beresford's sensitive script is spot-on, steering clear of thickly applied sentiment. Beresford excels in combining humour and pathos, and the characters he creates are as believable as those in his phenomenal 2012 The Last of the Haussmans, which debuted two years ago at the National Theatre.

One of the latest British films to tackle the history of sexual minority movements, it is the first film directed by Matthew Warchus, he of the wildly successful, TONY-award-winning Matilda the Musical. The film features a stellar ensemble of British national treasures, including Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, and the excellent Paddy Considine.

Set to be one of the best films in LGBT cinema in the coming months, it’s a jolly comedy and a good old faith-restorer, without a sugar-coating – more Billy Elliot than Richard Curtis, and all the better for it.

Pride outside:
Pride is being screened in London parks this summer as part of Luna Cinema's open-air film programme - book your tickets now!