The movie

Blue Jean

In 1988, a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality.

Length: 97 min
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Language spoken: Engels
Language subtitles: Nederlands
Cast: Kerrie Hayes, Rosy McEwen, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page
Director: Georgia Oakley
Release date: 2022

Description

‘Blue Jean’ is the impressive feature debut by British director and screenwriter Georgia Oakley. The film shows that there is room for everyone in the world and that, even if society throws up massive obstacles, you can learn to be yourself. Jean (Rosy McEwen) is a high school PE teacher. It is 1988 and the Thatcher government has passed a law banning the promotion of homosexuality (the infamous Section 28). At school, where Jean is far from open about her sexuality, this new law now puts her in an impossibly difficult position. Then, the arrival of gawky new student Lois (Kerrie Hayes) ultimately forces Jean to make choices… Selected for the Giornate degli Autori program at the Venice Film Festival, it was awarded the Audience Award, and it won four British Independent Film Awards, including Best Leading Actor and Best Debut Screenwriter.

‘A frank, piercing debut… [The film’s] depiction of a proudly communal working-class lesbian scene feels warm and inhabited—not to mention a relative rarity in British cinema.’—Guy Lodge, Variety

Reviews

The Guardian
"Terrific debut feature”