stream queen
by jay jones
SIX PICKS FOR NEW QUEER FLICKS BENEDICTION Here’s a new film from world-class auteur Terence Davies, writer and director of A Quiet Passion, the Emily Dickinson biopic. Benediction explores the turbulent life of World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden). The writer and soldier was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting in WW1. He was decorated for his bravery, but when he returned from service, he became a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war. His poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front, and he became one of the leading war poets of the era. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London’s literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, broken by the horror of war, he made his life’s journey a quest for salvation, trying to find it within the conformity of marriage and religion. benedictionmovie.com
WORKHORSE QUEEN Through a tender mix of touching moments and wise-cracking humor, Workhouse Queen is an intimate exploration of the complexities of reality television’s impact on queer performance culture. It arrives on DVD and VOD this month, followed closely by the network premiere on Starz on June 1 for Pride month. Told from the perspective of the overlooked yet beloved drag queen Mrs. Kasha Davis, Workhorse Queen focuses on the growing divide between a small-town drag community members — those who have been on television and those who have not. “In this cultural moment where drag queens are most visible in the competitive space of reality television, it’s important to remember that there are communities of drag queens doing meaningful, subversive, healing, and celebratory work in smaller towns — and that every drag queen who makes it to the television stage is a part of a longer lineage of queer activists and artists who paved the way for them,” director Angela Washko said. “This film celebrates generations of queer performers who have created space for drag in places that may have been otherwise unwelcoming to LGBTQ+ people. I am thankful that through distribution, the film will
THE FASHION LOVER Directed by Marco Pollini, this Italian coming-of-age drama The Fashion Lover will be released on VOD this month by Ariztical Entertainment. Giovannino (Pino Ammendola) is a boy who dreams of working in the fashion industry. Against the will of his shepherd father, he attends a fashion technical college in Sardinia. His father, Antonio, is a violent man; his mother, Alice, is a depressed woman who decides to leave her husband and her family after the continuous cheating of Antonio. It’s June and school is ending. The boy must take care of his 8-year-old sister, Stella; and his father forces him to look after the animals. During a fashion show organized by his school, Giovannino’s creation, a dress, is worn by a famous model and luckily, he is rewarded. He then understands that he is capable of doing great things with fashion and starts trying to find a way to leave his father and go chase his dream. ariztical.com
get to circulate widely — to the people in those small towns.” Washko’s directorial debut follows Mrs. Kasha Davis as she navigates the exciting highs and devastating lows of pursuing the fame promised by a reality-TV platform. With one foot inching toward Hollywood’s doorstep and the other cemented firmly within her beloved Rochester community, Mrs. Kasha Davis finds a surprising new audience at home. She works toward becoming the queer role model for children that Ed didn’t have and desperately wanted growing up. “It has been an incredible journey documenting she Popil/Mrs. Kasha Davis,” Washko said. “He stood out to me because it felt like there was so much more to his story and he represented a larger community of drag queens who don’t quite fit the mold of what reality television wants from its participants.” The film also includes the voices and perspectives of drag queen celebrities who have been on RuPaul’s Drag Race, such as superstar Bianca Del Rio, Darienne Lake, Tatianna and Pandora Boxx. Also seen are leaders of subversive performance communities around the world, including drag queens who reject or have been rejected by the reality-TV platform. bgpics.com/movies/workhorse-queen continues on page 40
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www.rage.lgbt | MAY 2022
