Before sharing with you our 2020 programme, we invite you to join us for another special pre-festival event on Thursday 8 October. We will be screening SEAHORSE: THE DAD WHO GAVE BIRTH (2019), a documentary by artist and acclaimed filmmaker Jeanie Finlay that follows trans man Freddy McConnell on his audacious journey to start a family, from preparing to conceive right through to birth. Made with unprecedented access and collaboration over three years, the film shows how Freddy gradually adjusts his optimistic expectations to confront the reality of pregnancy as both a physical experience and one that challenges society’s fundamental understanding of gender, parenthood and family.

Against a backdrop of increasing hostility towards trans people in the UK and around the world, after the screening Freddy will be joined by non-binary lawyer Lui Asquith (they/them), Head of Legal and Policy at the charity Mermaids which supports transgender and gender variant children, young people and their families. In a discussion chaired by Dr Cath Lambert (Department of Sociology, University of Warwick), they will be talking about queer parenting as well as the many legal challenges trans people face in the UK today.

Please register to get the viewing link and zoom link ahead of the event.