Film critic Ryan Gilbey discusses his new book It Used to be Witches, a treasure-hunt through queer cinema past and present, in conversation with Ryan J. Smith

7:00pm-9:00pm Fort Road Bar

A cocktail of memoir, criticism and candid interviews, Ryan Gilbey's It Used to be Witches considers the power of queer cinema from every angle; as a vehicle for resistance and change, as a mode of expression for its makers and as a way for film fans to feel seen and celebrated. Speaking to directors like Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers), Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca) and Bruce LaBruce (No Skin Off My Ass), Gilbey discovers how LGBTQ+ artists use film to challenge, defy and shock a world that is increasingly hostile and indifferent to them.

Ryan Gilbey has been writing on cinema for more than 30 years, and is currently a film and theatre journalist at the Guardian. He is the author of It Don't Worry Me, a book about 1970s US cinema, and a study of Groundhog Day in the BFI Modern Classics series. He'll be discussing It Used to be Witches with Margate-based writer and cinephile Ryan J. Smith.