About the film
Spring 1991: queer life is under renewed attack in Britain, and filmmaker Derek Jarman is adapting Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II into a radical protest film. Drawing on extraordinary never-before-seen footage shot by Seamus McGarvey on Jarman’s set, Queer Edward II is about the refusal to separate art from life, politics from pleasure.
“ The films are of no consequence, and no interest.
What is of interest is law reform, and to give solidarity to other people. That’s the only reason for making them in this way. But it’s a very good reason. It leaves my peers with no good reason except their vanity in their attempt to make a good film.
I have another agenda. ”
Synopsis
In 1991, Derek Jarman sets out to adapt Edward II — a gay love story with a bloody ending — into a film that will speak directly to the homophobia of the era. New legislation threatens to criminalise consenting gay behaviour, and the tabloids are baying for blood.
Recently diagnosed with HIV and unwilling to play nice, Jarman throws his lot in with the radicals. He casts fellow activists from OutRage! as extras and channels the energy of injustice and protest into his film.
Young cameraman Seamus McGarvey captures a buzzing, joyful set: a pack of beagles let loose, drag nuns on a smoke break, an impromptu naked rugby scrum. Meanwhile, Jarman courts controversy from all sides, chastising fellow activists in print and getting himself arrested at OutRage! demos.
What begins as a low-budget period drama spirals into a scandal when OutRage! Storm a neighbouring sound-stage of a well-known pop star to hand him “the keys to the closet”. The tabloids quickly catch wind, sending the production into panic.
At the centre of the ensuing debate on privacy and protest is Jarman, mischievous, uncompromising — and living on borrowed time. As the shoot wraps, his importance to his filmmaking family comes into focus. And in an epilogue, a vote on gay rights erupts into a full-blown riot, driven on by Jarman's defiant spirit.
Director statement
When I was first approached to look through unseen rushes shot on the set of Edward II – which had been sat in a cupboard for over thirty years – I hoped there might be enough material for a short. Instead, I was astonished to find a comprehensive record of Jarman’s idiosyncratic filmmaking practice, capturing everything from rehearsals to intimate conversations to production office dramas. What really struck me, however, was the set’s embrace of the 1990s political climate, particularly regarding gay rights.
That Derek Jarman was a political artist is immediately apparent from the films themselves. Less clear to me was his active involvement with the movement: his decision to become the first public figure in the UK to disclose his HIV status, and his association with OutRage! in particular. As a queer filmmaker born just after Jarman’s death, I saw a clear opportunity to use the Edward II set as a springboard to discuss what I wish I’d known: just how high the stakes were for the community at this historical moment, and Jarman’s centrality to the struggle that followed.
My perspective is shaped by a belief that queer history is too often depoliticised and reduced to respectable narratives of progress, rather than the messy, confrontational movements that made that progress possible. With anti-trans rhetoric and attacks on queer rights again intensifying, I hope the film can function not simply as a snapshot of a historical moment, but as a reminder of what collective resistance can look like – and what role art has to play.
Ben Fowlie
Producer
Ben is a London-based creative executive and producer with twenty+ years of experience working in documentary film. He is the former VP of Sales and Partnerships for Original Content at Universal Pictures Content Group, and the Founding Executive & Artistic Director of the Points North Institute and Camden International Film Festival, where for two decades, he oversaw its growth into one of the most prominent documentary institutions in the world.
Sebastien Rabas
Producer
Sebastien is an English-French filmmaker based in London. He has had films screened at international festivals such as Sheffield Doc/Fest and Aesthetica, as well as broadcast on the BBC and The Guardian. He is an alumni of EsoDoc, Berlinale Talents and IDFAcademy, as well as the Masters Program in Directing Documentary at the National Film and Television School, UK.
Nicole Halova
Editor
Nicole studied film editing at FAMU in Prague. Her most recent work "All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea" (Jeanie Finlay, 2026) premiered at CPH: DOX. Other work includes “The Islands and the Whales” (Mike Day, 2016), which was nominated for an Emmy and a BAFTA Award, “Carrousel” (Marina Meijer, 2019), which won the Golden Calf award at the Netherlands FF, and “How Deep is Your Love” (dir. Eleanor Mortimer, 2025).
Joe Bini
Edit Consultant
Joe is best known for his collaboration with Werner Herzog on numerous films over twenty years, including: "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" (1997), "Grizzly Man" (2005), "Rescue Dawn" (2007), "Encounters at the End of the World" (2007), "Into the Abyss" (2011) and "Into the Inferno" (2016). He has also collaborated with Andrea Arnold ("American Honey", 2016; "Bird", 2024), Lynne Ramsay ("We Need to Talk About Kevin", 2011; "You Were Never Really Here", 2017) and Laura Poitras on "All The Beauty And The Bloodhed" (2022).
Michael Sherman
Producer
Michael is a New York-based producer whose work spans documentary and fiction film. His credits include "Milius" (2013), Brady Corbet's debut "The Childhood of a Leader" (2015), "Madeline’s Madeline" (2018), "Skate Kitchen" (2018) and "A Photographic Memory" (2024).
Simon Fisher Turner
Composer
Simon is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor. He produced many of Derek Jarman’s film scores and soundtracks, including “Caravaggio” (1986), “The Last of England” (1988), “The Garden” (1990), “Edward II” (1991) and “Blue” (1993).
Dora Ash Sakula
Archive Producer
Dora is a London-based Archive Producer who has worked extensively with production companies like Raw, Passion, Misfits and RSA on projects for Apple TV+, Netflix, Sky, CNN, BBC and PBS. Recent credits include “Kingdom Of Dreams”, “Surviving Black Hawk Down”, “1971: The Year Music Changed Everything” and “Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf”.
Siim Skepast
Sound Designer
Siim is an Estonian sound designer working across documentary and fiction film. His credits include “One Day” (2023), the BAFTA-winning “Crab Day” (2023) and “Ulya” (2026), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Seamus McGarvey
Exec Producer
Seamus is a cinematographer from Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 1990s he worked with Derek Jarman on "The Garden", as well as a variety of his short films and music videos, and was personally invited to film the behind-the-scenes of "Edward II" to help his career progress. He has received two Academy Award nominations for his cinematography, on Joe Wright’s 2007 drama "Atonement" and his 2012 adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s "Anna Karenina".
Ahmad Ahmadzadeh
Exec Producer
Ahmad has run Aimimage/Ice Films, a documentary and feature film equipment hire company, for over forty years, servicing productions such as "The Draughtsman’s Contract" (1982), "Trainspotting" (1996), "The Hurt Locker" (2008) and "Ex Libris: The New York Public Library" (2017). He is a veteran EP/Producer, having worked on 20+ documentary and fiction films in London and around the world.
Tilda Swinton
Exec Producer
Tilda is a British actress who shared a deeply creative and formative relationship with Derek Jarman. She acted and participated in many of his films, beginning with "Caravaggio" (1986), and including his final film "Blue" (1993). She has won an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards.
Sandy Powell
Exec Producer
Sandy is a British costume designer and long-time collaborator of Derek Jarman, having designed costumes for films including "Caravaggio" (1986) and "Edward II" (1991). She has won three Academy Awards and three BAFTA Awards, and received the BAFTA Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to film.
Christine Vachon
Exec Producer
Christine is an acclaimed independent film producer and co-founder of Killer Films, known for championing bold, auteur-driven storytelling. With a career spanning over three decades, she has produced landmark films such as "Boys Don’t Cry" (1999), "Far from Heaven" (2002), and "Carol" (2015), collaborating with visionary directors including a longstanding parternship with Todd Haynes.
Russell Tovey
Exec Producer
Russell is a British actor, writer and curator whose work spans film, television and theatre. He is known for performances in "Looking" (2014), "Years and Years" (2019) and "Plainclothes" (2025). He is a prominent voice in contemporary art through his acclaimed Talk Art podcast, championing greater public engagement with artists.
Rebecca Lichtenfeld
Exec Producer
Rebecca is a producer and social impact strategist whose work sits at the intersection of documentary filmmaking and human rights advocacy. At the Bertha Foundation, she supported more than 200 films, including Academy Award-winning and nominated documentaries. Her recent credits include “Patrice: The Movie” (2024), “Come See Me in the Good Light” (2025) and “To Hold a Mountain” (2026)
The team
Theo Rollason
Director
Theo is a London-based filmmaker with a background in editing. They have also worked as a film critic, programmer, and archivist for the estate of the artist Paula Rego. They recently co-directed the BFI-funded short film “Out of the Peat” with Tabby Carless-Frost. Queer Edward II is their debut feature.
