Breakthrough director Lewis Doherty has released their short documentary, Outlasting, that explores the overlooked queer history of Northern Ireland. 

Commissioned as part of BBC Northern Ireland/Northern Ireland Screen’s series Two Minute Masterpiece and premiering as part of the Official Selection at Docs Ireland 2025, Outlasting focuses on the LGBTQ+ elders of Northern Ireland, such as politician, historian, and activist Jeffrey Dudgeon. The film features interviews with Dudgeon, along with archival clips that showcase protests and advocacy for gay rights in Northern Ireland. 

Doherty hails from Northern Ireland himself and his experiences as a queer person influenced them to create Outlasting. “Born into post-Troubles Northern Ireland, I grew up acutely aware of the region’s deep sectarian divide and pervasive homophobia,” said Doherty. “As a queer person at the heart of this, I often felt invisible, unable to see myself reflected in media or society, with no queer role models to look up to. 

“As a lover of history I went searching for our own queer history and I uncovered the remarkable lives and activism of queer elders like Jeff whose stories have been largely forgotten. Their legacies inspired me to create a film that honours and celebrates them.” 

The director continued to emphasise the necessity of a film like this, saying, “To me this documentary is a celebration and a love letter to the resilient queer community who endured oppression and that fought for its freedom against all odds. The importance of these stories cannot be overstated as this generation is aging, and their voices must be heard before they are lost forever. 

“With this film, I aim to educate younger queer people who are unaware of the rich queer history of their ancestors and honour the queer elders of Northern Ireland, giving them the visibility they have long been denied. As the LGBTQ+ community faces new challenges today, I hope this film reminds us all of the mistakes of the past while also inspiring a new generation who continue to challenge homophobia and transphobia in Northern Ireland today.”

 

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Outlasting is not Doherty’s first film, and certainly won’t be his last. They have experience across films like Dungeons and Dragons, unscripted television like Jeopardy!, scripted television like Pastor Ed, and documentaries like When It Rains, which won the Docs Ireland Marilyn Hyndman Award. 

His work and talent have been recognised through selection at different film festivals and development programs, such as the GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival, at which Outlasting will be screened on August 1, 2025. 

Doherty has also been selected as a recipient of GAZE’s starGAZE programme, which provides year-long mentorship to emerging queer filmmakers as they develop their craft. They intend to work on their next film through this programme. 

Of this film, Doherty says, “Outlasting is just the beginning for me, I have spent the last 2 years developing a feature documentary exploring queer history in Northern Ireland. This film is titled Saving Sodomy From Ulster reclaiming the ‘Save Ulster From Sodomy’ homophobic political campaign lead (sic) by Ian Paisley in the late 70s which campaigned against any decriminalisation of homosexual acts.”

Until the release of Saving Sodomy From Ulster, Outlasting provides a glimpse at the LGBTQ+ history of Northern Ireland and is available on BBC iPlayer or at GAZE 2025.