Sara Morrison vs Belfast Film Festival

[NorthernIrishFeminist]

Employers seem to be slow learners when it comes to women's rights! There’s another employment tribunal case being brought by a woman who attended and took the microphone at a Let Women Speak event in Belfast last year and has been treated very badly by her employer Belfast Film Festival as a result.

Looks like we’re going to have to keep gardening until they get the message.

disclaimer. I don’t know Sara and have no connection to BFF I’m just a woman who likes donating to causes that make a difference

So she’s saying LGBTQIA+ is A BIG THING. Except they didn’t do a thing in 2022.

And in 2023 it was such a BIG THING that they'd been talking about it since February. Or January. Or probably December. Or since the 2002 one they didn't do. But they didn't bother putting it in the brochure. Or advertising it. Or getting sponsors. Or telling the board. Or choosing a film.

Oh there was a Moose 🫎 reference.

Aside from ebbulient - MD said another thing Sara has in common with Sarah Palin is they both hunt moose.

It was mean to be a joke but landed like a lead ballon. Was totally disrespectful to Sara.

Not “incredibly busy” but rather “super mega ultra non stop mega mega busy”.

Or mentioning it to the only two members of staff you employ. I mean MD couldn’t have done it - she was SO SO SO BUSY!

Still a great quote. I’ll keep it myself too. 😊

Aye. Doing the jobs of 3 people at least, so we hear.

Thank you - that’s helpful.

Well I don't know... when you look at the other TiMs' pictures on that page, he is quite feminine in comparison!

At least 3 and then she had a witch hunt against the only other full time member of staff. So four people’s jobs now.

And she has a fifths persons job of finding documentary evidence of something she seems to have made up entirely. That’s a big job that will keep her very busy tonight.

Watching Charlotte Elves at work - it’s like watching a large super computer process in super quick time - I know she knows every single thing in the 1000 page bundle and as soon as a witness says something, she checks with her catalogue and verifies if it’s true or not. Yesterday as MD was giving evidence saying oh well there will be something in the bundle or the extra bundle - Charlotte was able to sit and feed Naomi verification of notes in real time. It was a thing of beauty as she talked and talked - oh there will be X or Y and Charlotte shook her head. Charlotte is the person who lives in the evidence and her forensic approach spots the gaps, the oddities, what’s present, what’s missing - and what will damn the witnesses.

Rightly in another case she was praised by the Court for her accuracy and diligence:

From a Judge
101.Copy link to this paragraph
I repeat my thanks for the assistance of all counsel (and Janes Solicitors, also acting pro bono for Ms Buzzard Quashie) in this matter, but in particular Ms Elves.

Not only has she been appearing pro bono, as has Mr Leonard KC, but her diligence and thoroughness in interrogating the 1,200 pages of audit logs has been instrumental in the factual developments identified in Section C of the judgment above.

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2025/1397

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr437vg0r5lo

Thanks for the clarification @YouCantProveIt Just skim reading the TT posts, I had completely missed the significance of that section. Definitely a mean girl vibe coming out there.

I've come in late to this - been catching up on Darlington - but the more I read of this witness's evidence I picture her as Wile E Coyote and Naomi as ACME, providing MD with everything she needs to hoist herself with her own petard.

Thanks everyone for coverage of this (and sending thanks at a remove to NW too). MD’s attitude positively bristled off the page. I’m extremely interested now to see the promised documentation turning up. I wonder what the likely odds are? 🤔

On another note, I’m furious but also genuinely saddened to see the role played by Mark Cousins in this sorry tale. As a film fan I’ve always been a great admirer of his work. Another name to have to add to the ever-lengthening ‘feet of clay’ list. So, so disappointing.

(With apologies for extending an already overlong post, I also had the opportunity to try and do a mini ‘break it down for me’ exercise with a very old friend yesterday, with mixed results. Not because she was being ‘kind’ but because of the enormity of explaining everything, even in simple terms. She just couldn’t really comprehend the batshittery of it all, and I didn’t even have time to do more than scratch the surface. It all started with her mentioning the BBC ruckus, but she was totally unaware of the trans part of the problem, which was worrying)

Louise Kennedy's book Trespasses has been made into a TV series. I really liked the book, but I've just seen that Lola Pettigrew is in it. Wasn't she one of the people who complained about Sara? It's put me off watching it now.

Mark is the one calling for her to be pulled from all things LGBTQIA - he even goes to say those organisations have been kind in not punishing her, calling her a transphobe etc.

They all WhatsApp each other on a board WhatsApp speaking ill of Sara and end with an X. If I get the chance I’ll note some things from the bundle.

If Mark and Co didn’t do a pile on, MD likely wouldn’t have done anything. I mean she’s so so so busy & hasn’t got round to reviewing their employment contracts for 12 years.

Yes out of nowhere she joins the concerted letter writing campaign and I think follows it up again to chase to see if the witch has been caught.

Lots of solicitors for the BFF have turned up carrying files. Seems the senior solicitor is also in attendance.

All three barristers in their side rooms.

MD has arrived smiling so maybe she found something?? All to play for.

Mark Cousins - email of 6/7/23

As a board member Sara should be removed from any of our trans and queer projects at once……

We should then inform the queer groups who are rightly criticising us. We can’t ask trans people to work with her in any way. It is deeply disrespectful to them.

Followed up by convicted attempted murderer Laurence McKeown

I think the individuals and organizations who contacted Michelle regarding the issue have actually been very generous in terms of how they have framed their criticisms.

Oh but BFF allow Sara her sex realist views

Were meant to be starting at 10, but the BFF legal team all seem to have headed outside again. SM's solicitor is in a different suit today - grey, no stripes, just as nicely cut as yesterday's.

And she has a fabulous name!

Nothing from NW so far.

In other news I can restart HRT which means I should get more sleep and not feel sick with vertigo, though it will take a couple of weeks. My antibiotics also speed up drug metabolism so it may not be as effective as before, but I should get some relief. Worrying test result is nothing to worry about.

That sounds like progress, Myrtle.

We've not started yet, but people are starting to filter into the room so it may not be too much longer.

I’ve had a look at the bundle. Agreed documents show that:

The very very very expensive £100,000 screen costs £2,000 a pop to get out of storage and set up.

There was a WhatsApp chat with some people saying we should do something at some point - 24th or some month.

Not a mention of Pride, no dates, nothing concrete.

There may be more added to the bundle but as present that’s all folks.

For those who are not aware, Tribunal Tweets posted its reporting last night in the Good Law Project's attempt to have a judicial review of the Supreme Court ruling with respect to toilets. These can be found in the GLP thread.

This link takes you directly to my posting if the first session and the second session is in my post immediately under that one.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5350068-good-law-practice-launch-a-ehcrsupreme-court-challenge-over-toilets?reply=148500439&utm_campaign=reply&utm_medium=share

Going to be a while here. Everyone turfed back into waiting room while judge & counsel for both sides have a discussion.