A film produced by a University of Gloucestershire lecturer has been shortlisted for an Oscar.

'Unrest', is a multi-award winning documentary about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) produced by Stroud-based film production lecturer, Lindsey Dryden.

The film is an intimate portrayal of director Jennifer Brea's fight to overcome her ME diagnosis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, a largely misunderstood disease that is thought to affect around 17 million people worldwide.

Last night the Academy named Unrest as one of 15 on the shortlist for the Documentary Feature Oscar, each vying to be one of the 5 nominees in that category to be the announced on January 23.

On hearing the news, Lindsey said: "We are just beyond thrilled. It is a privilege to be in a group alongside the best documentary films of the year. But what is so special about this is that it is about visibility.

"We set out to make a film about people who were disbelieved, rarely listened to, and often made invisible. Unrest's inclusion in this list means that those people are being seen and heard and listened to at last, and every increase in visibility will have profound impacts on their lives. It is an honour to be part of that change."

Unrest has already received global attention after being awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and receiving the Illuminate Award at the Sheffield Doc/Fest.

There will be two screenings at the university's Park campus, Cheltenham at 6.30pm on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 December. Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance via https://unrestatglos.eventbrite.co.uk. Following the screening there will be a Q&A with Lindsey, where she will be discussing the experiences she had producing the documentary.

Picture credit: Pixabay