Community film project puts LGBTQIA+ end-of-life stories in the spotlight
A powerful new community film project from The University of Warwick is inviting LGBTQIA+ people in the Midlands with a terminal diagnosis, and those close to them, to share their stories on camera.
The film project aims to improve palliative and bereavement support for LGBTQIA+ communities by highlighting voices that are currently not represented in end-of-life care resources. Capturing real-life experiences and stories on film will challenge assumptions and, by deepening understanding of the diverse needs and realities faced by LGBTQIA+ people at the end of life, serve as a powerful tool for education, empathy, and change in the training of clinicians and care providers.
Among those taking part in the project is Dr Trevor Yellon, a GP who lost his husband, Drew, to cancer in 2023. Struggling to find appropriate bereavement support for gay men, Trevor believes the films will help break stereotypes and show the depth, commitment, and love in LGBTQIA+ relationships.
“I wanted to speak about what I’d experienced and how I was feeling to someone who shares my culture,” Trevor said. “I needed someone who could understand why, as a gay man, some elements of my loss felt different and difficult - and I wasn’t able to do that. I think this project is so important as it will not only create awareness of the needs of LGBTQIA+ communities at end of life and during bereavement, but also give insight into our real lives, our monogamous, committed long-term relationships, and our care, love and grief.”
The project is led by Michele Aaron, Professor of Film and Television Studies at The University of Warwick (pictured, right), who hopes the films can help make end-of-life care more inclusive.
“Being at the end of our lives is an intensely vulnerable time when we all want to feel protected and cared for,” Michele said. “But research by end-of-life charity Marie Curie indicates LGBTQIA+ communities can feel reluctant to access end-of-life healthcare and bereavement services, as they’re worried about discrimination. Trans people can find the prospect particularly daunting.
“End-of-life care providers have a huge role to play in creating safe and inclusive spaces for everyone’s needs to be met, and film is an important education tool. By capturing and sharing these stories of lived experience, we can inform training materials that generate real understanding and change, and challenge inequitable access to support.”
The project builds on Professor Aaron’s earlier work on end-of-life experience, where films were shared globally and turned into impactful palliative care training resources.
The project is a collaboration between the University, queer filmmaker El Jones, and charity Compassionate Communities UK.
Support for project participants is being provided by Helen Juffs (pictured, left), for Compassionate Communities UK. As a trained ‘end-of-life doula’, she offers emotional support and advocacy, practical assistance, and companionship to those coping with a terminal diagnosis.
“My career shift into health and wellbeing was triggered by my own health challenges and bereavements,” Helen explained. “These experiences, underpinned by my living as a queer person, have given me insight into the importance of being both heard, and being treated as an individual. I am passionately concerned with addressing health inequalities in under-served communities, particularly for LGBTQIA+ people.”
Get Involved
LGBTQIA+ people across the Midlands can contact Helen Juffs at 07349 908877 or featherfoot.hj@gmail.com. Filming can be arranged to suit each person’s needs, and contributions can remain entirely anonymous if preferred. Transport to film workshops is provided or the filmmakers will travel to participants if their situation requires.
The project is funded by the University of Warwick’s Participatory Research Fund.
ENDS
Notes to editors
‘We don’t talk about death enough’ LGBTQ+ People’s Perspectives on Palliative and End of Life Care, Marie Curie, August 2022, https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/document/superdrug-report-lgbtq-end-of-life
Image: LEFT Helen Juffs, Compassionate Communities UK; RIGHT Professor Michele Aaron, The University of Warwick
Professor Michele Aaron has recorded a piece to camera talking about the project and explaining that the power of TV and film can affect people's attitudes towards death and dying.
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University of Warwick
The University of WarwickLink opens in a new window is one of the UK’s leading universities, marking its 60th anniversary in 2025. With over twenty-eight thousand students from 147 countries, it's currently ranked 9th in the UK by The Guardian University Guide. It has an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research and teaching, for innovation, and for links with business and industry. The recent Research Excellence Framework classed 92% of its research as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. The University of Warwick was awarded Midlands University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times.