Scene: Manchester Festival Lineup Features Davies, Oseman

Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Scene: Manchester will run its third LGBTQIA+ film and TV festival from August 20-27 in Manchester, UK, with screenings, panels, comedy, parties and premieres
- Russell T. Davies will appear with producer Nicola Shindler to discuss Channel 4 miniseries Tip Top and revisit It's a Sin on its fifth anniversary, just ahead of the show's stage adaptation premiere at Aviva Studios
- Alice Oseman will headline an 'intimate' conversation about the impact of her Heartstopper books and their Netflix adaptation on the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide
- Preview screenings include Pedro Almodóvar's Bitter Christmas, Jane Schoenbrun's Cannes Queer Palm-winning Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Gregg Araki's I Want Your Sex, and Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan's Closing Night film Chatlines
- Cast members from Disney+'s Rivals and BBC series I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl will participate in dedicated panels alongside executive producers
- Head of Events Gary James Williams said the festival doubled its audience last year and called the 2025 programme the 'biggest and most ambitious' yet
Why it matters: A third edition at a festival that doubled its audience last year signals genuine UK demand for queer-focused screen events outside London, with Manchester now drawing marquee creators like Davies and Oseman alongside arthouse premieres from Almodóvar and Araki.




