Now & Next Commission We Were Always Here Broadcast as part of Dance on Film: BBC Introducing Arts

Michael Lee Richardson and Garry Mac, We Were Always Here , 2019. Courtesy of the artists.

We are pleased to announce that Now & Next commission from 2019, We Were Always Here by Michael Lee Richardson and Garry Mac, will be broadcast as part of Dance on Film: BBC Introducing Arts on BBC Four on Wednesday 27 May at 11:30pm before being made available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

A disco ball hangs in stasis, slowly falling, as everyone dances, coming into their own. Drawing on critical theory on the concept of ‘queer time’ and queer temporality, We Were Always Here takes place in a working men’s club where, as we move through space, time begins to bend until the space becomes something else entirely.

Now & Next is a talent development scheme in partnership with Screen Scotland and BBC Scotland that nurtures and showcases emerging creative voices. Applications closed on Friday 29 May 2020 for the round next of commissions.

Garry Mac is a queer writer and illustrator, known for Gonzo Cosmic, Tomorrow and Freak Out Squares. He is currently working on a semi-autobiographical graphic novel AION, which interweaves with his master’s dissertation, Time Bends: Queer Temporality in Comics, and follows that with a political queer comic series called Praxis. His foreword introduces the anthology of queer writing published by 404 Ink, We Were Always Here.

Michael Lee Richardson is a writer, producer and community organiser from Glasgow. Michael’s first film My Loneliness is Killing Me — directed by Tim Courtney — debuted at EIFF in 2018 and won a Scottish BAFTA Award (Best Short Film). Michael is a Scottish Book Trust New Writer’s Award winner and a member of BBC Scotland’s first Drama Writer’s Group. Michael has produced work for Pride House Glasgow and LGBT History Month Scotland, and – with Ryan Vance – edited We Were Always Here for 404 Ink.

AR Crow is a poet, performer and trainee psychiatrist. They like to explore the spaces in between.

Claricia Parinussa holds a BA (Hons) Dance with her training including classical, contemporary and hip hop styles. She was awarded the Dance Base DEBS Bursary in 2010 under mentorship of Christine Devaney and has since worked with companies including Cagoule, Jackin’ the Box and Freshmess, performing nationally and internationally.