PRIDE comedy screening at FOMO Cinema Tbilisi

Matthew Warchus | 2014 | UK | 1h59m | Presented in the original English audio with English subtitles

Not many people have heard of 2014's PRIDE, which is a real shame because it does something very difficult and makes it look easy. It takes a real political alliance, between lesbian and gay activists in London and striking Welsh miners during the 80's miners’ strike, and turns it into a film that’s warm, funny and crowd-pleasing without flattening the history. It doesn’t treat solidarity as a slogan. It shows it as awkward, suspicious and hard-won.

What keeps PRIDE from feeling worthy or sentimental to me is its balance. It’s genuinely entertaining, without ever losing sight of the political stakes or the class tensions underneath the humour. Matthew Warchus gives the film real momentum, and Stephen Beresford’s script understands that small gestures, arguments and uneasy introductions are what make collective action feel real.

It premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2014, and it later won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut for Beresford and producer David Livingstone, which feels right for a film that connected so strongly with audiences while still carrying real historical weight.

WHY I’VE INCLUDED IT IN THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM: I’ve included PRIDE because I don’t want this week to be all dread, damage and collapse. I want room for films about resistance, alliance and the possibility of people crossing social and cultural divides and actually changing each other. PRIDE earns its uplift. It reminds us as viewers that politics lives in rooms, in conversations, in mistrust, in compromise and then, sometimes, in real mutual loyalty. I probably the most accessible film in this week's program, but it's also one of the smartest.

LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.

HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to the first floor. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us:
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17933106294029235/