Private Project

Pride & Protest

After the recent media frenzy around the Birmingham anti-LGBTQ+ protests against relationships education in primary schools by a group of Muslim community members, a team of queer community reporters from various ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds in West London came together to challenge the persecution, intolerance and discrimination QPOC face, by voicing and showing their own life journeys in the form of a documentary project. This was the defining moment when Rainbow Films, a volunteer-led collective--launched through and championed by charity Make A Difference Entertainment (MADE)--was born.

PRIDE & PROTEST is the filmic synthesis of the many conversations shared by the Rainbow Films team on important but often ignored issues met by QPOC about racism within the larger queer community, as well as issues around intersectionality and visible diversity in the more mainstream and White heteronormative society they live in.

  • Blaise Singh
    Director
  • Blaise Singh
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 14, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • BFI Flare
    London
    United Kingdom
    March 27, 2020
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Scottish Queer International Film Festival
  • Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals
  • CineQ and SHOUT Festival
  • Tel Aviv International LGBTQ Film Festival
  • BFI Pride at Home
Director Biography - Blaise Singh

Blaise Singh started his career as music video director working with over 100 artists in Urban and Bhangra music. Following this he was a producer/director for TV talent show 'Make Me A Brit Asia Superstar' for 10 episodes.

He also produced a TV drama pilot called 'Bad Karma' which focused on the lives of four British Asians from West London desperate to find fame and fortune in the creative industries. During this period he set up an online video channel called UBTV where he produced, directed and edited webseries 'Freshie Prince', 'Can't Stop Acting', 'Channel Hopper' and the short horror film 'The S State' as well as comedy sketches which have together amassed over 10 million views.

Blaise then went on to set up a charitable film and video production company called Make A Difference Entertainment (MADE). Through working with BAME and LGBT young people as a mentor and facilitator for video production skill development, Blaise has produced a number of short film and documentary projects which have been screened in association with BFI Future Film.

Blaise has a keen interest in working with underrepresented talent to tell and share stories for under-served audiences.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Pride & Protest is a labour of love, created with and for my community of queer people of colour (QPOC) living in Britain. The film was born from a community project I had set up with members of the LGBTQ+ with the aim of increasing understanding about intersectionality and in particular the struggles of dual identities.

My background as a media teacher enabled me to project manage and facilitate practical learning sessions to develop participants as community reporters. This would provide them with the skills and confidence to capture and share stories through the Rainbow Films social media and contribute to producing a feature length documentary that showcased the various activists, creatives and safe spaces available to QPOC.