Earlier this week, we wrote about Manchester UK being the subject of two items that just landed in Queerguru’s intray …… and no, we’re not revisiting the news that their ex-Mayor is now the new Prime Minister… that’s a ‘wait and see’ story.  The other matter was that we had just discovered that this city that gave us the wonderful Queer as Folk TV series back in 1999 now has its only LGBTQA+ Film festival.  Well, SCENE is about to have its Third Edition, but hey, sometimes news takes time to cross the Atlantic. We’ve already published our curated Top Picks of Must-See Movies (see HERE), but we’ve discovered a new addition to that list.

Kudos to their Programming peeps for including an excellent locally made movie. It’s by a Stockport man (no need to look it up ..it’s a mere 32 miles away).  Lloyd Eyre-Morgan is not just a filmmaker: he is more like a modern Renaissance man; he writes, stars, co-directs and co-produces his movies like CHATLINES, his new one.  Eyre-Morgan is a queer blue-collar man who comfortably keeps to telling stories about others like him, which gives such a remarkable authentic edge to his work, which sets him apart from so many of his peers.

When Ris Fatah, Queerguru’s Senior Contributing Editor, raved about Eyre-Morgan’s last movie, Departures, he summed it up with ‘There’s humour in the darkest moments. It’s a queer story but anyone who’s ever dealt with any kind of toxic relationship will be able to relate to it. Messy and real, love and loss.a’

We have no option but to write only the minimum about the latest movie Chatlines to avoid spilling the beans. However, we can say it’s the story of two terminally ill men-Jordan in 2027 (played by Eyre-Morgan) and Danny in 2005-connect through a video chat app. Despite the time gap, they bond over shared fears and regrets as they face death, finding solace in their unlikely friendship. I will only add that it’s been a very long time since this writer found himself stretching  for the box of Kleenex so many times 

The Organisers of the Scene Film Festival have honored the film by giving it the prestigious Closing Night Slot on August 27th: beg, steal or borrow to snag a ticket.  We didn’t know where in the world it will screen next, BUT we are doing a Zoom interview with Lloyd this coming week so hopefully he can fill us in for you.  There is no way you will want to miss Chatlines: Kleenex or not.