The Queen
Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series Disclosure: A Trans Re-reading of American Cinema. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
Queens at Heart (1967)
This short pseudo-documentary offers a rare look at trans life and drag ball culture in mid-1960s New York. LGBTQ historian and archivist Jenni Olson found the long-lost film in the mid-1990s and the UCLA Film & Television Archive restored the archival treasure in 2009. Alongside the stomach-turning, inappropriate line of questions asked to four elegant and discrete trans women Misty, Vicky, Sonja and Simone, are joyful images of mid-century drag balls with gay men, including men of color, dancing and presenting themselves with pride, elegance and delight. As several trans artists and thinkers discuss in the documentary Disclosure, some of the first nationally televised interviews with trans people about their lived experiences came in the form of the spectacle that trafficked in intrusive questioning and salacious reveals on talk shows hosted by Maury Povitch, Jerry Springer and others. In this way, Queens at Heart is a significant historical precursor to this trend.
35mm, color, 22 min. Director: Unknown.
Victor/Victoria (1982)
An American documentary classic, The Queen is an immersive vérité gem that offers a precious window into the world of queer and trans life in New York City in the 1960s. Narrator Flawless Sabrina (Jack Doroshow) nurtures and directs a diverse group of young drag queens from all over America, as they converge on New York City to participate in the 1967 Miss All America Camp Beauty Queen contest she founded. The camerawork is as daring as its subjects with its severe low-angle shots, extreme closeups and precise overhead snapshots, giving us a full-bodied and delightfully chaotic behind-the-scenes view into their intricate world. In 2019, Kino Lorber released a 4K restoration building on work done by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Outfest UCLA Legacy Project and the Harry Ransom Center.
DCP, color, 68 min. Director: Frank Simon. With: Jack Doroshow, Crystal LaBeija, Rachel Harlow, Andy Warhol.
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