Blue Jean

Jean (Rosy McEwan), a newly divorced PE secondary school teacher in Newcastle, is well-liked by her students and colleagues. At night, she hangs out with her girlfriend Viv (Kerrie Hayes) at the local lesbian bar with their friends, though Jean is still uncomfortable being seen with a “comfortably out” Viv.

Living in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain in 1988, where Section 28 had been passed prohibiting teachers from “promoting homosexuality”, the apolitical Jean is adamant about keeping her work and private lives separate. However, when Jean’s new student Lois (Lucy Halliday) spots her at the lesbian bar, her carefully constructed double life is suddenly under threat. Jean must decide whether to continue to live in fear or make peace with her own queer identity in the face of rampant homophobia.

Georgia Oakley’s stunning debut, beautifully shot on 16mm, feels like an artefact from the 1980s with its colour palette and synth-rock soundtrack. McEwen gives a deeply moving and nuanced performance of a queer woman struggling to be herself when prejudice is encouraged by those in power, a past that feels all too familiar today. — Vicci Ho

Screenings

Matakana MTK Wed 16 Aug, 3.45 pm

MTK Sat 19 Aug, 8.15 pm

Hamilton

B LID Wed 23 Aug, 4.10 pm

A LID Sat 26 Aug, 8.30 pm

B LID Mon 28 Aug, 2.45 pm

Tauranga RIA Sat 12 Aug, 8.15 pm

RIA Tue 15 Aug, 1.30 pm

Napier MTG Sat 26 Aug, 7.30 pm

New Plymouth

A LLC Fri 25 Aug, 6.30 pm

A EVN Sat 26 Aug, 8.30 pm

A EVN Wed 30 Aug, 8.10 pm

Palmerston North

B EVP Fri 1 Sep, 4.15 pm

A EVP Sat 2 Sep, 8.20 pm

Masterton

A MAS Fri 18 Aug, 8.15 pm

B MAS Mon 21 Aug, 4.00 pm

Director, Screenplay:

Georgia Oakley

UK 2022 | 97 mins

Producer: Hélène Sifre

Cinematography: Victor Seguin

Editor: Izabella Curry

Production Designer: Soraya Gilanni Viljoen

Costume Designer: Kirsty Halliday

Cast: Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday

Festivals: Venice, London 2022

Georgia

Wendy Ide, The Observer