Wheesht Films
Bachelor, 38
Bachelor, 38 is an enduring love story of one man’s time in London during the early 1960s. Coming of age as a young homosexual in a society still labouring under deep-seated prejudice, his discovery of the illicit ways through which gay men still sought to live and love freely in the city drew him into a world where sexual liberty and romantic frivolity persevered through the darkest of days for Britain’s gay community.
Amongst the “small ads” on the back page of The Sunday Times, he was introduced to a secret message board used by homosexual men to seek out company. Illegally connecting with one another to arrange a night of forbidden intimacy or pursue a lifetime of romance.
These small ads opened up a boundless world of sex, adventure and possibility. Few people would ever realise that hidden on the back pages of these newspapers, printed in plain sight for all to see, were countless untold stories of first loves, irrepressible desires and true romance.
This is one of those stories. Told by the man who lived it.
Accolades
In 2018, Bachelor, 38 was shortlisted for both the Iris Prize & Best British Award at the Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival. It received a commendation for Best British Short, and scooped the runner up spot in the Audience Award for Best British Short.
In 2019 it was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award and that same year was officially selected for Queer Screen’s 26th Mardi Gras Film Festival, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and the Pink Lobster Film Festival in Canada. In 2020 it also made the official selection for the 13th British Shorts Film Festival, Berlin and the Filmets Badalona Film Festival, Spain.
Bachelor, 38 also screened at the following film festivals -
2019
Cinemagic Belfast
Festival Internacional de Cine De Ponferrada,
Helsinki International Film Festival
Manusia Film Festival, Indonesia
Norwich Film Festival, UK
Pink Apple Film Festival, Zurich
QUEER Filmfest, Weiterstadt
Southampton Film Week, UK
Sunderland Film Festival, UK
2020
Show Me Shorts Film Festival, New Zealand
Pune International Festival, India
CINEMAFORUM Festival, Poland
Zagreb Film Festival, Croatia
Rendezvous 23rd Istanbul Film Festival
As part of the Bafta Shorts 2019 Touring Package, the film also showcased in a variety of Art House Cinemas, Theatres, Cultural Centres and Museums around the globe. In addition, it was licensed by the BBC and had a short theatrical window and online release with Curzon Home Cinema.