E.D.E.N. are thrilled to introduce our newest board member, Cyd Sturgess! A previous participant in numerous E.D.E.N. projects, including the inaugural Transforming Cinema film festival, Cyd has a fabulous academic background in queer studies and gender history and is focussed on transgender film festivals and their curation and delivery across Europe. Find out more from Cyd below!
Cyd Sturgess (they/them)
“I’ve been involved with E.D.E.N. on and off since 2015, starting with the inaugural Transforming Cinema Festival and later the E.D.E.N. Shorts workshops in 2016. I have a PhD in Queer Studies and Gender History from the University of Sheffield, and I now work as a lecturer and film festival researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. In this work, I focus on the importance of identity, community-building and care practices in transgender film festivals across Europe. I am also a co-organiser of TranScreen, the Amsterdam-based transgender film festival.
Over the years, I’ve published on queer and trans representation in print media and cinema, and I have also run events and workshops that focus on community building and collaboration. This is why I’m especially excited to be joining the board of E.D.E.N. Film Productions, as its commitment to LGBTQ+ arts and activism reflects many of the values I care about: connection, visibility, and working together to create change. As a board member, I hope to support projects that center the agency of LGBTQ+ makers, and that connect queer and trans communities both in the UK and internationally.”
