Are You Proud? – film review
Directed by Ashley Joiner, this film is a moving and important representation of Pride and the LGBTQ+ community in the UK – past, present and future
By 
Ellen Tout
Every Pride season, we often see and hear more about the LGBTQ+ community. But Pride is more than just a few weekends of parades and celebration – it marks important historical movements and should still be, in some form, a protest for further change.
The Are You Proud? film captures this, and all the sides of Pride – and importantly from an often lesser-documented UK view. It brings together rare archive footage and interviews from across a spectrum of historical campaigns to celebrate the movement’s landmark achievements.
Gay Pride, the Gay Liberation Front and Stonewall are among the organisations recognised in a film that doesn’t just look back, but asks tough questions about the future. Contemporary in its interpretation of Pride, the film also explores division and conflict within the community – and examines how we can all stand together. For example, groups such as Trans Pride, Black Pride and Gaysians are not overlooked, with particularly moving footage and interviews from Trans Pride in Brighton.
50 years after the Stonewall riots in America, this is a timely moment to take stock and question how much attitudes have changed, and fundamental rights have been achieved. Are You Proud? is an illuminating, heartening and honest documentation of the queer world, Pride and LGBTQ+ communities in Britain. It’s essential viewing for us all.
Are You Proud? opens in select UK cinemas on 26 July with Q&A previews from 2 July. See https://www.peccapics.com/
