Film: Why We Pride
Director: Natalie Scarsbrook
Why We Pride” is a short documentary film byBlatella Films, co-produced with Southend-on-Sea Pride, thatexplores the history of LGBTQ+ rights in the UK, highlighting key milestones and ongoing struggles, emphasising why Pride events remain crucial for equality.
In a new interview on Blazing Minds ahead of the Southend Film Festival, I got a chance to ask Director Natalie Scarsbrook few questions about the new documentary ‘Why We Pride’.
You can watch Why We Pride at the Southend Film Festival on Sunday, 7th June 2026 at 12:30hrs as part of Mostly Made In Southend Part One.
Q. Your new documentary ‘Why we Pride’ has been selected for The Southend Film Festival can you tell us a bit about the film.
A. This will be the first screening the film has had in our home town, and we’re very happy to share it with the local community of filmmakers. To date, the film has been screened at 64 festivals around the world.
Q. How did the idea for the documentary first come about?
A. We have been working with Southend Pride since 2018 and we are often asked by passers by ‘why do we still need to have pride festivals?’ We wanted to make this short film to showcase the journey that the LGBTQ+ community has been on for equality and how they still need to march and protest as there are still considerable barriers to true equality.
Q. What you have any inspirations for the look and style of the documentary?
When making the film I knew I wanted to draw on a lot of newspaper archived headlines and articles to showcase the changing attitudes towards the LGBT community, but I didn’t want it to be a flat and boring, glorified slide show with a voice over underneath. When I was constructing the timeline and narrative through headlines I made sure that there was some dynamic element to it, either as a simple highlighted block, an overlayed piece of footage or a clip from one of the Prides we had filmed in previous years. I felt it was important wherever possible to show a photo or piece of footage to illustrate the points being made in the voice over narration, as I felt it drives home to the viewer the human aspect of the fight for equal rights. These are and were real people who were facing these issues.
Q. Did you have a set scope for how you wanted to do the documentary, and did the concept for the film change whilst you were putting it together?
A. We knew that we wanted to rely on stock footage and existing newspaper articles for the bulk of the visuals. The Pride committee members provided the voices in the film and that was intentional as we wanted it to be real LGBTQ+ voices telling their journey.
Q. Did you experience any issues whilst making the documentary?
A. The hardest part about the documentary was finding the line between educational and preachy and not crossing it. We wanted the message to be clear but didn’t want people to feel they were being lectured when watching it. Its about acceptance and understanding, not punishment for the viewer.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments whilst making the documentary?
A, Our favourite part about this film has been seeing the reaction from audiences at festivals we have attended. We’ve tried to show the film to as many people as possible because we want people to be aware of these issues that they may never have realised were issues for the LGBTQ+ community. Having people come up to us after screenings and say “I didn’t realise that was a law in place until so recently”
has justified our decision to make this film.
Q. What do you hope people will take away after watching the film?
A. our hope is that after watching this film people will see a pride festival happening or a pride march go past their high street and instead of thinking “why is this happening again” they will cheer them on, take part of just realise that there are still issues out there that need addressing and that is the reason that Pride needs to continue.
Q. Do you have any other projects you are working on?
A. We are currently in production of our second feature documentary, Witchcraft and Stilettos: Redefining the Essex Girl Narrative. This film explores the stereotype of the ‘Essex Girl’, Its history dating back to the witch trials, and the impact the stereotype is having on women across the county today.
Q. If someone was looking to make their own documentary, what advice would you give them?
A. You can never film too much material. With any documentary just let the subject talk and talk. The film may not finish the way you intended when you started but that’s part of the fun.
You can watch Why We Pride at the Southend Film Festival on Sunday 7th June 2026 at 12:30hrs s part of Mostly Made In Southend Part One.
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!