This screening of Victim will be introduced by Dr Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram, Senior Lecturer in World Cinema at Queen Mary University of London.

Basil Dearden’s groundbreaking drama was one of the first films to address homophobia head-on, a cry of protest against British laws forbidding homosexuality.

Hiding in plain sight, the gay community of 1960s London call Soho their home. This cloistered community lives in fear of persecution and under the shadow of blackmail; in a world where gossip spreads through whispered conversations and meaningful glances in crowded bars, where compromising photographs circulate in anonymous envelopes, and where young men are found dead in mysterious circumstances.

Enter Melville Farr: a successful barrister - and a married man - who is drawn into a murder enquiry involving a former acquaintance. As Farr finds himself increasingly implicated in the case, he becomes determined to catch those responsible and refuses to meekly accept his peers' pact of silence and role as victim.

Dr Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram is author of the world's first book and edited anthology on new Indian Indie films. Ashvin is Associate Director of the UK Asian Film Festival – London and has directed the UK Heritage Lottery-funded documentary Movies, Memories, Magic (2018). His latest book Indian Indies: A Guide to New Independent Indian Cinema (with a foreword by Shabana Azmi) was published by Routledge in 2022.  

This film was proposed by our member John McKay. To propose your own screening, log into your members’ account to visit the Members’ Area.

Cast:
Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price