New LGBTQ+ film co-created by Wigan film-maker

A Wigan film-maker is one half of the creative team between a new film exploring diversity and sexuality about to hit the cultural scene.
Abigail Henry and Kieron Moore at the first screening of their LGBTQ+ short film Spectrum in ManchesterAbigail Henry and Kieron Moore at the first screening of their LGBTQ+ short film Spectrum in Manchester
Abigail Henry and Kieron Moore at the first screening of their LGBTQ+ short film Spectrum in Manchester

Abigail Henry is a writer, director and producer on LGBTQ+ movie Spectrum, which explores the stories of a host of characters who descend one night on Manchester’s famous Canal Street.

Abigail worked for more than a year along with fellow University of York graduate Kieron Moore to bring Spectrum to life and recently celebrated its completion with a screening for cast, crew and supporters in Manchester.

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It is now hoped the 37-minute production will be shown at film festivals and LGBTQ+ events over the coming months and Abigail, who was born in Marsh Green and now lives at Wharfside, is proud of her involvement.

An image from the filmAn image from the film
An image from the film

Abigail, 26, said: “It has been a great exercise in film-making and we’ve worked with some incredibly talented people.

“Kieron and I were at university at the same time but never worked together. We met up after bumping into each other at Manchester Pride and he had this cool idea to create a piece set around Canal Street exploring lots of stories.

“I thought it sounds great and told him to sign me up. I’ve really enjoyed working on it, I’m really proud of it and I’m excited to see where we can take it now.”

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Abigail’s writing contributions to Spectrum were a short, humorous piece about a security guard trying to lock up a club at the end of the night and a look at a young drag king preparing for one of their first big appearances but coping with the problem of losing their costume en route to the show.

The latter benefitted from a bit of immersive research and Abigail says it was part of the LGBTQ+ scene she was anxious to have represented on the big screen.

She said: “I really wanted to explore drag kings. It’s something beautiful and fun but rarely seen.

“I met a Manchester drag king and went to a night and was helped to drag up and get into a persona.

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“It definitely helped being submerged in that character and the best thing was working with the drag kings and getting them cast in the short. They brought a whole different level to it.”

Abigail and Kieron are currently working on entering Spectrum for LGBTQ+ film festivals but she says she would also like to bring the finished work to a screen in her home borough.

She said: “Bringing Spectrum to Wigan would be amazing. It’s a huge part of my life so it would be nice to do something at home, especially having received help from Leigh Film Society to make it.”

Find out more about the film at www.indiegogo.com/projecs/spectrum-lgbtq-short-film#/