Blue Jean – IFFR

In 1988, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government introduced the infamous Section 28, a law banning the promotion of homosexuality. Jane is gay, but not out of the closet. During the day she works as a high school gym teacher, and in the evening she plays pool at the local lesbian bar with her partner and friends. Although she deftly navigates those boundaries, constantly keeping those worlds separate feels stiflingly uncomfortable: Jane responds neutrally to her students’ homophobic jokes, avoids her married sister’s harsh and casual comments, and still feels uncomfortable when remaining in her partner’s society. . When the pressure of the Stigma Law becomes too much and a new student appears, Jane must reconsider her timid political stance to determine who she is and who she can be.

The debut feature, shot on 16mm and full of beautiful, deep, vivid blues from British writer-director Georgia Oakley, is not a typical 1980s film, but rather feels like a forgotten realistic play from the time. With the subdued, confident aesthetic of the quirky classics of Donna Deitch and Chantal Akerman, for example, and the authentic acting of protagonist Rosie McEwen, Blue jeans An intimate, unadorned character study set in a time of institutional stigma. So far so relevant.

– Sophie Toffulmi