Last week saw Film With Pride’s #FilmFriday screen Treacle – a short that joined friends Belle and Jessie on a weekend away and explored the impact of a drunken hook-up between firmly heterosexual Jessie and bisexual Belle. We caught up with filmmaker April Kelley, to find out more about her writing debut.
“As a bisexual woman in the industry, I can’t help but feel that the ‘B’ in ‘LGBT’ is simply there to make the acronym roll off the tongue with ease. More often than not, what appears to be a bisexual story turns into a tale of experimenting or just ‘a phase,” says April. “I’ve always been open when it comes to sexuality and very happy to answer questions my friends build up the courage to ask when they’re drunk. But, what happens when that drunk friend wants to push her own sexual boundaries?”
“You’re friends, you’re comfortable in each other’s company, no doubt you’ve snogged before. What do you do if the advances are more? That’s what is explored in Treacle,” she continues. “Having heard these stories from both sides and experiencing my own, I’m fascinated by the ‘what if’ and the late-twenties social panic. What if, as an LGBTQ+ woman, you stop the advances to protect the friendship – the rejection still ultimately might hurt the relationship.”
“Or, what if you in a drunk fit of lust and ‘fuck it’ attitude go for it. What if 30 is looming and you don’t know what or who you want for the future but feel pressure by the life clock?” April ponders. “It’s complex, but just because it’s complex shouldn’t mean we avoid fulfilling the stories of bisexuals. Life is complicated, but we don’t get lazy with other stories but defaulting them as ‘a phase’. And this is why I’m giving the ‘B’ a voice in Treacle, my writing debut.”
The award-winning film was created in collaboration with the Bisexual Resource Center and supports the notion that bisexuality isn’t just a phase or an experiment.
If you missed our screening of Treacle – don’t panic – the film will be available on Amazon Prime from 23rd September 2020 – Bi Visibility Day, naturally.
