SCENE: Manchester’s LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival Returns – Back, Bolder and Bigger for 2025
Friday 15th August to Thursday 21st August
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Imagery from the 2024 festival available HERE
After a dazzling debut in 2024, SCENE: Manchester’s LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival is back and gearing up for an even bigger celebration of queer screen culture this summer. Mark your calendars: the 2025 edition of SCENE will take place from Friday 15th August to Thursday 21st August 2025, bringing a packed week of screenings, panels, parties, and powerful storytelling to venues across the city during Manchester’s iconic Pride festival.
Following the overwhelming success of its inaugural year – which featured tributes to queer trailblazers, sold-out screenings, and appearances from iconic names in LGBTQ+ culture – SCENE has firmly cemented its place in Manchester’s cultural calendar. This year, the festival returns with more premieres, more parties, and more pride than ever before, with an exciting line-up to follow soon.
“I loved discovering SCENE last year – packed with artists and creators, all celebrating LGBTQ+ stories on screen. And all of this in the middle of Manchester, an absolute powerhouse of art, TV and film, setting the standard for other cities to follow. It’s beautifully tied into Manchester Pride, and I’m sure this year will be bigger and better than ever.”
RUSSELL T DAVIES – Writer
“An unforgettable celebration of queer culture, music, and cinema”
“Manchester’s schedule of summer events just keeps getting better”
“The inaugural SCENE – Manchester’s new LGBTQ+ film and television festival opens with a homophonic flourish by revisiting a bravura piece of television history.”
Gary Williams, Head of Events at CityCo (producers of SCENE Festival), says:
“We were blown away by the response to the first SCENE Festival – the audiences, the energy, and the love for queer storytelling in all its forms. It’s clear that this festival has struck a chord, and we’re thrilled to bring it back for 2025, even bigger and bolder. As part of Manchester’s iconic Pride celebrations, SCENE is a space to celebrate who we are, the stories that shape us, and the incredible talent across LGBTQ+ film and TV. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back this summer.”
Isobel Stainsbury, Senior Engagement Manager at Manchester Pride, adds:
“We are delighted to see the return of SCENE and to partner with the event again for 2025. SCENE has become a great addition to the Manchester Pride celebrations. As we continue to grow and evolve, we welcome more events that spotlight the diversity of our communities while fundraising for Manchester Pride to ensure we can continue to celebrate, promote the rights, equality and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in Greater Manchester.”
SCENE 2025 will continue to shine a light on both rising and established queer talent from across the globe, while celebrating Manchester’s own rich legacy in LGBTQIA+ film and television. From major venues like Aviva Studios and HOME to vibrant community spaces including First Street Outdoor Cinema and the Gay Village, the city will once again transform into a showcase for queer creativity and connection. This year, HOME, Factory International and CULTPLEX also return as festival partners, co-programming exciting events throughout the week.
The festival remains an official partner of Manchester Pride and is produced by Manchester Accommodation BID. Ticket profits – including booking fees from ticketing partner Skiddle – will be donated to the Manchester Pride Charity, supporting LGBTQ+ communities and projects across the city. As before, accessibility and inclusivity are at the heart of the event, with many tickets available for £5 and some events offered for free. For festival attendees looking to make an extended visit, a range of exclusive hotel offers, rewards, and packages will be available from participating city centre hotels throughout the duration of the festival.
Last year’s highlights included a Queer as Folk reunion with Russell T Davies, exclusive screenings including BBC’s Lost Boys & Fairies, as well as tributes to LGBTQ+ icons like Arthur Russell and John Waters, to an unforgettable drag cabaret hosted by the fabulous Divina DeCampo. SCENE 2025 promises to build on this momentum with a lineup that will continue to uplift, inspire, and entertain.
This year, SCENE is excited to partner with The Queer Filmmakers Network to launch “Out of MCR: SCENE Queer Shorts Showcase,” a short film submission programme celebrating the richness and diversity of storytelling connected to Greater Manchester. Submissions are open to fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental shorts (up to 15 minutes) with a strong connection to Greater Manchester. The submissions period will be live from Thursday 8th May at 11am until Sunday 6th July 2025 at 23:59pm (BST) – https://www.scenefestival.com/sceneshortssubmission
A curated selection of submitted films will be screened during SCENE Festival (15–19 August 2025), with audiences voting for their favourites. The winner will be announced at the festival’s award presentation on 20th August.
Stay tuned for programming announcements in the coming months. Sign up for further updates and ticket announcements at www.scenefestival.com.
For press enquiries, images or interview requests, please contact: Premier Comms | scene@premiercomms.com
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EDITORS NOTE
ABOUT SCENE
SCENE: Manchester LGBTQIA+ Film and TV Festival celebrates Manchester’s rich legacy as the birthplace of extraordinary LGBTQIA+ talent on and off screen, from Sir Ian McKellen, Layton Williams to Tony Warren, the creator of Coronation Street, and Yasmin Finney, star of Heartstopper. As the home of MediaCity, Queer as Folk, and innovative series like the lesbian witch drama Domino Day, Manchester is the perfect setting for a festival that honours queer film, TV, and new media.
The week-long festival will run from Friday 15th August to Thursday 21st August 2025, celebrating the very best in new and classic LGBTQIA+ cinema and television. SCENE showcases a dynamic mix of premieres, exclusive previews, much-loved classics, and special events, including Q&As, panels, and parties featuring leading voices from across the LGBTQIA+ creative community. The festival offers a combination of ticketed and free events, with a portion of the festival’s profits donated to the Manchester Pride charity, supporting LGBTQ+ communities across the city.
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ABOUT THE MANCHESTER ACCOMMODATION BID
The Manchester Accommodation BID is a ground-breaking initiative led by the city’s hotel and serviced apartment providers to help create new events and additional activities that will attract more people to visit and stay in Manchester and Salford.
At its core, the Manchester Accommodation BID aims to deliver better visitor experiences and additional activity to drive more staying visitors. It allows Manchester to better compete in a global market and grow overnight visits at a time when an unprecedented level of supply is set to join Greater Manchester’s accommodation market, with an additional 6,000 confirmed new bedrooms incoming across the city-region in the next three years.
Manchester Accommodation BID activities are be funded by the City Visitor Charge; a supplementary £1 Charge per room/unit per night for guests, added to final accommodation bills. The Charge is collected from all paid accommodation establishments that fall into the Manchester ABID zone.
Funds are used to: amplify marketing campaigns that drive overnight stays; help secure large-scale events, conferences, and festivals in low-season months; improve guest welcome and street cleanliness; and provide opportunities to futureproof the city’s growing accommodation sector and wider visitor economy. CityCo, The City Centre Management Company, is a delivery partner of Manchester Accommodation BID alongside Marketing Manchester. CityCo is delivering on public events and ‘city welcome’ work streams.
ABOUT MANCHESTER PRIDE
Manchester Pride is one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ charities. Its work aims to challenge discrimination in relation to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Through its grant-giving the charity supports, enriches and empowers LGBTQ+ community groups, events and causes in Greater Manchester. The organisation fundraises by staging events throughout the year, including the award-winning Manchester Pride Festival. Since 2003, Manchester Pride has raised and distributed over £1.8million.
Manchester Pride is part of a global Pride movement celebrating LGTBQ+ equality and challenging discrimination. Whether you’re attending Pride to protest, party, or both, some benefits of the festival include:
Manchester Pride’s August Bank Holiday events make a £27.5 million impact and contribution to the economy of the city of Manchester. Manchester Pride creates opportunities for LGBTQ+ people and allies to gain skills. Each year, the charity trains more than 250 volunteers to be a part of the celebrations. The festival provides a platform for LGBTQ+ artists from Greater Manchester, giving them access to a large audience. Services and supplies are procured from LGBTQ+ owned businesses across the region.
Visit www.manchesterpride.com for more information and resources. For media enquiries, please contact: harry@wearejam.agency or call 0161 850 0565. To apply for Manchester Pride Festival accreditation, please fill out this form by 26th July 2024.
*All tickets are subject to a 10% booking fee, fee is applied to the ticket only and not the £2.50 fixed donation.
ABOUT SKIDDLE
A company built by fans, for fans, Skiddle is an independent primary ticketing outlet housing the biggest range of events in the UK, across music, comedy, food + drink, festivals, attractions, theatre and more. With over 14m tickets sold and over 4m happy customers, Skiddle is rated 4.5* on Reviews.io and Trustpilot. Skiddle’s easy-to-use mobile ticketing app (available via Apple & Google Play) is a top 5 free music app and the top rated ticketing app in the UK.
ABOUT FACTORY INTERNATIONAL
Factory International is the organisation behind Manchester International Festival and the city’s landmark cultural space, Aviva Studios. Factory International commissions, produces and presents a year-round programme of original creative work and special events at Aviva Studios, online, and internationally through its network of co-commissioners and partners. It also stages the city-wide Manchester International Festival (MIF) every other year.
MIF is one of the world’s leading arts festivals, and the first to be entirely focused on the commissioning and producing of ambitious new work. Staged every two years in Manchester since 2007, the festival invites world-renowned artists from different art forms and backgrounds to create dynamic, innovative and forward-thinking new work in venues and spaces across Greater Manchester. Previous artist include, Björk, Jeremy Deller, Akram Khan, Yayoi Kusama, David Lynch, Wayne McGregor, Steve McQueen, Yoko Ono, Maxine Peake, Skepta, and The xx.
Factory International plays an important role in the lives of Greater Manchester residents, bringing jobs, skills, training and creative opportunities. Through the Factory Academy, Factory International is training the creative workforce of the future, while its pioneering creative engagement and artist development programmes create year-round opportunities for local people to get involved, from participating in flagship commissions to shaping the organisation through involvement in its public forums.
Aviva Studios was designed by the world-leading practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), with Ellen van Loon as lead architect – their first major public building in the UK. Its development was led by Manchester City Council, with backing from HM Government and National Lottery funding from Arts Council England.
Factory International is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
factoryinternational.org
ABOUT HOME
HOME is Manchester’s premier arts centre and a registered charity, welcoming over 4 million visitors since opening. HOME features two theatres, five cinemas, an art gallery, and a popular restaurant. HOME’s five screens showcase the best new independent film releases alongside a unique programme of film seasons, festivals, and special events. HOME works with international and UK artists and partners to produce extraordinary experiences, creating an exciting mix of thought-provoking film, drama, dance and visual art with a strong focus on international work and artist development.
HOME produces a specially curated, original programme of film seasons and special events and is committed to supporting UK film talent. HOME also invites established and emerging filmmakers to participate in Q&A events with audiences, including: Florence Pugh, Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, Don Letts, Mike Leigh, Nana Mensah, Francis Lee, Asif Kapadia, Ken Loach, Peter Strickland, Thelma Schoonmaker, Andrea Arnold and Joanna Hogg.
Our patrons include director Danny Boyle, actress Suranne Jones, playwright and poet Jackie Kay CBE, and artist Rosa Barba.
homemcr.org |Instagram @HOMEmcr|Twitter @HOME_mcr | Facebook HOMEmcr
Did you know that HOME is a charity? We need your support to bring the best film, theatre and art to Manchester and inspire the next generation. Get involved at www.homemcr.org/support
ABOUT QUEER FILMMAKERS NETWORK
The Queer Filmmakers Network CIC connects and champions LGBTQIA+ filmmakers across the UK, building a vibrant community of over 600 members. Through industry workshops, screenings, and networking events with partners like the British Film Commission, Raindance, and Peccadillo Pictures, QFN creates opportunities for queer stories to thrive – both on and off screen. From emerging talent to established voices, the network is dedicated to amplifying queer perspectives and reshaping the future of film. For more information you can visit them at https://queerfilmmakersnetwork.org/
ENQUIRIES For any queries ahead of submitting your film please do contact the team at queerfilmmakersnetwork@gmail.com
ABOUT CULTPLEX
CULTPLEX is a burgeoning independent cinema located in Manchester City Centre. CULTPLEX is the home of cult cinema, TV, video games, and cool nerdy events in Manchester; Currently situated within the award-winning venue GRUB – this little cinema does a lot!
CULTPLEX believe in the transformative power of cinema to inspire, entertain, and foster a strong sense of community. Since launching in 2019, CULTPLEX has steadily earned a reputation as Manchester’s premier destination for fans of cult film (and pop culture in general) seeking unique and enriching cinematic experiences that linger in the hearts and minds of their community, long after the credits roll!
