Nope - Screening

In 1964 Massachusetts, a young secretary becomes enchanted by Rebecca, the glamorous new counsellor at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship soon takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret.

“Comparisons have been drawn, understandably, to Todd Haynes’s Carol (2015) and Josephine Decker’s Shirley (2020), period films that navigate feminine obsession and queer desire with varying degrees of transparency. Eileen is more muted on the sexual tension between its central characters; Oldroyd seems more concerned with capturing a stunted coming-of-age and the insecurities that can compel a young adult to shape their life around a figure far removed from their reality. In Carol and Shirley, the motives are love and fear; Eileen seems to have more sinister impulses, which her interest in Rebecca merely helps to bring to the surface.” – The BFI

We are grateful to Dr Dany Girard who will introduce the film. Dr Girard works as a Senior Teaching Associate in Media and Culture Studies at Lancaster University. They are currently working on a monograph on Queerbaiting in Film and Television and an edited collection on New Queer Television. Their next project will look at Trans and Nonbinary bodies and disordered eating as represented in Horror/Gothic media. They have also written on asexualities, feminine expression in pop culture, and, of course, Star Trek.