Culture

11 Wig-Incinerating Drag Documentaries to Watch For Pride


The Gospel of Eureka (2018)

Dirs. Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher

Documentarians Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher didn’t expect to find a thriving queer community in the small town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a place known in particular for its annual retelling of Jesus’s resurrection. But the find it they did, in and out of a local drag bar, Eureka Live, where habitués contemplate what it means to be Southern, Christian, and queer. The town and the film upend expected narratives around sexuality and religion, especially in light of the tiny town’s city council passing an LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination ordinance, defying the state legislature.

WigHBO

Wig (2019)

Dir. Chris Moukarbel

Released on HBO just this past month, Wig celebrates drag culture in New York with a fresh take on Wigstock, which revived itself last year with Lady Bunny and Neil Patrick Harris at the helm. This time it incorporates not just history, but the present and future of drag, and its impacts on queer culture now. Insights from the devastatingly wonderful Brooklyn staple Charlene Incarnate as well as New York legends like Kevin Aviance, Linda Simpson, Tabboo!, and more appear in the film, which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this year.

Extra Credit:

A Night at Switch n’ Play (2019)

Dir. Cody Stickels, Prod. Chelsea Moore

Telling the story of Brooklyn’s beloved queer performance collective Switch n’ Play, which hosts a unique, experimental drag and burlesque show each month in the back room the borough’s Branded Saloon, A Night at Switch n’ Play follows “tight-knit family of outsiders who welcome queer audiences into their world and create a safe, tantalizing space where everyone can be themselves” and features diverse performers from variety of backgrounds and styles. A Night at Switch n’ Play has been making its rounds at different festivals across North America, including its June 1 debut at Inside Out, the Ottawa LGBT Film Festival; as well as screenings at NewFest, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival; and Utah’s Damn These Heels LGBTQ Film Festival.

The Making of a King (Post-Production)

Dir. Nicole Miyahara

“Yes, we exist! Drag kings are takin’ over the world!” drag king Landon Cider says in the trailer for Nicole Miyahara’s documentary, The Making of a King, which follows the work of drag kings living in Los Angeles. In the world of drag, performers say, their art form still comes second. “Give me a chance to show that kings can be just as fierce as queens,” Cider says. And you can help. Unfortunately documentaries about drag kings are still few and far between, but you can support the production of The Making of a King via the International Documentary Association here.

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