Trouser Bar

Trouser Bar is a 2016 British erotic fantasy film directed by Kristen Bjorn (born: Robert Russell), photographed by Sam Hardy, edited by Esteban Requejo, and intended for a mainstream audience.^[1] The executive producer and driving force behind Trouser Bar is British screenwriter, playwright and producer David McGillivray, who famously collaborated with directors including Pete Walker and Norman J. Warren. McGillivray has said, "Authorship of the [Trouser Bar] screenplay has not been unequivocally established. The authorship of the script of this film is unattributed. The producers of the film firmly discourage any speculation as to authorship. Pathetique Films can confirm that the script was passed on to them by the late Peter de Rome."

'Obsessed with tight trousers, corduroy and leather'

Focusing on a single "situation" in a menswear boutique in 1976, the short film has been described as an “erotic fantasy" in the style of a 1970s British sex comedy and does not include hardcore/graphic sex scenes. It features British comedians Barry Cryer and Julian Clary in cameo roles, along with actor Nigel Havers and London-based entertainer, Miss Hope Springs. The distinctive period costumes and clothing, notably corduroy, were sourced and supervised by Mark Harriott. The original score by Stephen Thrower combines disco-style music appropriate to the period with a 70's "porn film vibe".^[1]

The production was first reported by Ben Beaumont-Thomas in an article in The Guardian newspaper on 26th November 2014, with David McGillivray quoted as saying "Nobody knows anything about this script. [The author]’s only screenplay. So next year, we are going to make... Trouser Bar. [The author] was obsessed with trousers, loved corduroy and leather. And so he wrote a film set in a menswear shop.”^[1][2]

Filming commences on Trouser Bar, on location in a converted TV repair shop on London's Caledonian Road near Kings Cross, September 2015

Flares at BFI Flare: worldwide debut

Shown as an unattributed work, Trouser Bar received its world premiere on Sunday 20th March 2016 at the 30th BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival (formerly London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) in the prestigious NFT1 cinema at BFI Southbank. The screening, introduced by the BFI's Brian Robinson and also including Peter de Rome's short film Encounter, featured numerous double entendres and an extended Q&A with members of the Trouser Bar cast and crew. The audience response was extremely enthusiastic. The BFI had described the film as "a controversial slice of gay erotica" and commented "The script for the film was found in the collection of the late erotic filmmaker Peter de Rome, who made some of the most beautiful gay sex films ever produced, now available on DVD." The BFI added, "Set in a gentlemen’s outfitters c. 1976 the film takes its inspiration from the emotions aroused by a fetishistic love of corduroy, leather and tight trousers... a cast of professional erotic performers star alongside some gifted amateurs."^[3]

The BFI Flare premiere of Trouser Bar was covered in the Londoner's Diary in the 900,000-circulation London Evening Standard newspaper on Friday 18th March, 2016, which referred to "the mystery" of this "trouser drama".^[4]

The "mystery" referenced in the Evening Standard diary is the fact that the author of the Trouser Bar script/scenario is officially unknown, despite earlier comments and claims to the contrary. The script is credited to "A Gentleman".

Production and controversy

Trouser Bar stars Denholm Spurr (Bobby), Craig Daniel (Joe), Zac Renfree (Larry), Ashley Ryder (David), Scott Hunter and Hans Berlin.^[1]

Five days of filming took place in September 2015 on a specially-constructed set in a converted TV repair shop on the Caledonian Road close to King’s Cross Station in London. Production Design was by Lorna Gay Copp and Art Direction by Alan Gilchrist.^[1] The location shoot was covered by The Londonist.^[5] The budget was said by IMDB to be £50,000.^[1]

The 20-minute film^[6] has been extremely controversial. Although in post-production by November 2015, a release was unclear due to legal issues. The situation was reported in The Guardian newspaper, as well as a column by Sebastian Shakespeare in the mass circulation (1.7 million readers) Daily Mail newspaper. The Mail reported that a "row" had developed: "Trouser Bar, which is set in a menswear shop, features unlikely roles for Eighties heart-throb Nigel Havers, 63, camp comedian Julian Clary, 56, and veteran comic Barry Cryer, 80. ‘It’s very light-hearted,’ Havers tells me." The Mail column also quotes David McGillivray as saying, "Pornography is still a stigma in this country but [Trouser Bar author] loved porn and, in his letters, he talks about visiting gay cinemas. [He] had a fetish for fabric: Corduroy was his favourite, but he also liked velvet, flannel, leather [and] denim. He was very particular about the type of clothes he liked. Trouser Bar is a film of enormous historical interest." ^{[7] [8]}

The story was picked up in the USA by Entertainment Weekly^[6] and also reported by international news and lifestyle magazine Queerty.^[9]

A detailed account on the film's background and the resulting controversy is by writer, producer and comedy awards sponsor, John Fleming in his So It Goes blog.^[10] High-profile supporters of the film on Twitter have included author Neil Gaiman, writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet and Lisi Tribble Russell.

In July 2016, the film's producers commented that "All those referring to Trouser Bar in any medium are earnestly advised to refer to its screenwriter as 'A Gentleman'. Pathetique Films firmly discourage any speculation as to authorship."

On 18th October 2016, producer David McGillivray (@makeadelivery) tweeted: "My dispute with the John Gielgud Charitable Trust has been settled. Trouser Bar can continue to be shown throughout the world."

UK cinema and DVD release, international screenings

In July 2016, it was announced on Twitter via the @trouserbar unofficial film account and other sources that the Pathetique Films production would be released and distributed by Peccadillo Pictures. This included a tour to venues across the UK as part of the Pout Fest "Time & Tied" British gay short films "Boys on Film" roadshow. The unattributed film was officially released by Peccadillo Pictures in the UK on 20th July 2016, with the DVD released on 22nd August 2016.

Scheduled to appear at film festivals around the world, the overseas premiere of Trouser Bar took place in Seattle, Washington, USA on 17th October 2016 at TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival, the largest LGBTQ Pacific Northwest festival, followed by the 11th Pornfilmfestival Berlin in Berlin, Germany on 30th October 2016. Further non-UK screenings planned include: Madrid, Spain; Edmonton, Alberta; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The film has also been accepted for MIX NYC - The New York Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film/Video Festival - in early 2017.

References