Orla Keaveney has released a new short film, ‘Hiding Pride’, which details one of the trials and tribulations that come along with not being out with a funny twist. While lockdown has presented countless challenges, Orla, who has experience in video journalism, said it presented the opportunity to explore creative film-making.

“I made this film as part of the EDEN Digital project, which is a 10-week short filmmaking course for the LGBTQ+ community, run by EDEN Films in Sheffield. I had a few years of video journalism experiences but I’d never made a film: even though I love video production, doing anything too creative felt way scarier than sticking to factual news reports. When everything went virtual again for the second lockdown, I figured this pandemic was probably my only chance to make a film in Sheffield while still living in Dublin, so I went for it!

Speaking on the inspiration for her film, Orla says it grew from a conversation with a friend in college.

“I had to come up with an idea that I could produce in my own house, with just one actress. I remembered a story a college friend had told me about when her mother came to visit her in Dublin, and because she wasn’t ready to tell her she was a lesbian she had to take down her pride flag and hide any evidence that she was gay. Since that story is a bit sad, I wanted to do a really silly, upbeat spin on it – luckily I have a ridiculous amount of rainbow-patterned trinkets to use as props!”

It takes a village, and this is especially true when it comes to film-making. From inspiration to her best friend as the main character, Orla is grateful for the support she received in making this film a reality.

“I was also really lucky to have so many people to help me out. My best friend and housemate Assia happens to be a trained actress so working with her was really fun (her character’s girlfriend Stephanie is named in honour of Assia’s real-life boyfriend Stephen, who helped out with the camera work!)

“Claire and Brett from EDEN were both so helpful throughout the process, even from a different country. And I even was able to get original music written for the film by Sean O Flaherty and Criomhthann Morrison, who are definitely in the running for allies of the year!”

Orla shared her hopes to bring a smile to people’s faces and also highlights that while some of us may experience rainbow-fatigue, it’s symbolism is vital to many exploring their identity.

“Since the film only comes in at 2 minutes long, there’s isn’t really a lot of room for a deep message. I just hope it’s something that queer people can watch and find funny, and somewhat relatable.

“It’s become a bit of a cliché that baby gays compulsively buy everything they see with a rainbow on it, but I think it’s also important to recognise how affirming these symbols are for your identity, and how hard it is to have to hide them (and by extension, hide parts of yourself) from the people you love.

“And on a lighter note, I hope that people don’t judge me for having an incredibly cluttered bedroom – that big pile of clutter was just made for artistic purposes, I swear!!”

Watch ‘Hiding Pride’ exclusively on GCN TV below:

‘Hiding Pride’ a short film by Orla Keaveney