Event

The Queen

Fri Aug 16: 8.30pm
Sat Aug 17: 6.30pm, 8.45pm
Sun Aug 18: 4.30pm, 6.30pm
Mon Aug 19: 3.00pm
Tue Aug 20: 3.00pm
Wed Aug 21: 8.30pm

Frank Simon
US
1968
1h 8m

About
** New 4K restoration from the original camera negative! **

More than 40 years before RuPauls Drag Race, this ground-breaking documentary about the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant introduced audiences to the world of competitive drag. The film takes us backstage to kiki with the contestants as they rehearse, throw shade, and transform into their drag personas in the lead-up to the big event. Organized by LGBT icon and activist Flawless Sabrina, the competition boasted a star-studded panel of judges including Andy Warhol and his superstars Edie Sedgwick and Mario Montez. But perhaps most memorable is an epic diatribe calling out the pageant scenes racial bias delivered by Crystal LaBeija, who would go on to form the influential House of LaBeija, heavily featured in Paris Is Burning (1990). A vibrant piece of LGBT history, The Queen can now be seen in full resplendence thanks to a new restoration from the original camera negative.