February has arrived, and with it LGBT History Month. And with Birmingham’s growing queer culture, it’s never been more important to look back and see not only what we’ve achieved, but how far we have to go. If Pride is about celebrating who we are, then LGBT History Month is about where we’ve come from. And of course nobody does LGBT History Month better than SHOUT Festival. Kicking off on Thu 22 Feb with 1979’s BBC Play For The Day Even Solomon at mac Birmingham features one of the first appearances of a trans character on television. This special archive screening will be introduced with a talk by Trans activist and musician Kate Hutchinson, looking at the history of media portrayal and representation of the trans community. LGBT History Festival’s highlights include a special CineQ screening exploring Queer Spaces at A.E. Harris in Jewellery Quarter, coupled with a panel and a special musical performance from the inspirational Zara Sykes. A rare screening of Deepa Mehta’s 1196 film Fire, at The Loft Lounge. The unmissable Outing the Past at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery includes talks such as Daniel Browne’s ‘Warwickshire’s Hidden LGBT+ History’ featuring scandal, drama, sequins and sketches as well as a free tour of the magnificent Coming Out exhibition (booking advised). The event culminates with one of the most iconic of queer British films ‘Beautiful Thing’ at The Electric Cinema with special guest Jonathan Harvey. The full programme is available from http://shoutfestival.co.uk/news/birmingham-lgbt-history-festival-2018-programme-announced

Thu 22 Feb – Sat 24 Feb, various times and venues (booking advisable). See the full programme of events here