There is a search for couples to share their love story and the challenges overcame for an upcoming new film.

Artist Dawinder Bansal is pairing up with musician Martyn Ware, founder of The Human League and Heaven 17, to celebrate couples who found love in the 1980s.

The short film will be a collection of stories submitted about the obstacles overcome in these love tales and will feature during the Leyton Loves Film event in October and a selection of submissions will be archived online on Instagram.

The 80s theme will ask couples what their experience was like in the period - whether it was a school romance, or a slowly evolving friendship which blossomed to love.

Obstacles such as couples who faced racism, homophobia or class prejudice, when they tried to build their lives together would also be of interest for the film.

Ms Bansal said: “The 1980s was a memorable decade for so many reasons. Some of the most spectacular artists brought sensational music, film, art and fashion to people around the world. It was a decade where anything was possible.

“The 1980s has so much resonance to our current experiences and circumstances as a population. We had a conservative government, industries were closing and we had high unemployment, we entered a recession, racism was rife, and the world was learning about a new deadly virus.

“But we still had love. People were falling in love and sometimes in secret, especially if they were gay or interracial relationships. As someone who has never found love myself, I am fascinated by stories of how people find love and stay in love.”

Mr Ware added: Martyn Ware commented:

“The chance to collaborate with Dawinder on this project is too good to miss. Our work with Illustrious is often concerned with evoking mood of a certain time and place, and we are happy that immersive 3D soundscaping will be a crucial part of this work.

“As an artist with Heaven 17 in the 80s, we were lucky to be a part of an iconic era for music, fashion, politics and a melting pot of multiculturalism. But it was a time of Conservative government, high unemployment and uncertainty and unfortunately, open racism.”

“Art acts as a conduit for empathy and feelings of all kinds, and our music has often been seen as a significant part of many people’s emotional journeys.”

Helen Juffs and Deirdre Figueiredo, who met in 1989, are among the first couples to offer their story for the project.

Twenty five years after meeting, they were finally able to marry in 2014. Ms Juffs said: “We met at Nottingham Castle Museum where Deirdre worked in the Exhibitions team, and I was a volunteer.

“Neither of us were 'out' or had had a relationship with a woman before. It was all very tentative, starting with an unexpected embrace up a ladder! We only confided in two friends who were gay, to start with, then more friends and eventually family some years later. We got married in 2014."

To find out more about We Found Love In The 80s visit https://www.wefoundloveinthe80s.com/