Meet the Filmmakers

What is their why?

“Factory Talk​ explores real, perceived and internalised homophobia in the modern working world, highlighting the interplay of masculinity, class and bisexuality on self worth and mental health.

Both of us identify as queer and bisexual, with working class backgrounds, and have lived experience of anxiety and other mental health issues. The piece is based on real life events, taken partly from Chris’ experience of working in a factory where he worked alongside other men and felt the impact of being closeted and the isolation within a masculine working class environment. For us on a base level, ​Factory Talk​ allows us to explore the moments where we notice our anxieties around our queer identities playing out in our everyday working lives, and how this impacts our self-esteem, confidence and self-worth. We want to highlight the prevalence of anxiety and imposter syndrome bisexual people experience navigating working class life. The expectation of rejection feeds an anxiety that filters through into every aspect of life.

Talking about queerness alongside class and ‘Britishness’ is something we are both passionate about, from growing up in rural towns where coming out isn’t the same as in the bigger cities. We hope that this film will continue dialogue about queerness and masculinity, intergenerational conversations about identity, and how socio-economic status can affect ability to openly talk about sexuality, gender and mental health.”

Chrissie Hyde is a queer, working class creative from Hereford, working in the midlands and the south west. Known for his poetry by the name of 1990sChris, he writes primarily for film and audio. He has been commissioned by BBC arts for a radio production on bisexuality as well as working on a number of projects for Channel 4’s Random Acts. His work hopes to start conversations around queer identity, masculinity and class.

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Have you ever had the experience of not fitting in at a job or of needing to hide your true self? How did you navigate it and what lessons did you learn?

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