Times are truly appalling. With the Orange Menace having been sworn in as president of the United States yesterday, cosying up to tech billionaires and hellbent on promoting “only two genders”, this fascinating, deeply moving documentary film from Agniya Galdanova is a reminder of how art can flourish in the wake of capitalist greed and hatred.
Gena Marvin, who’s only 22 at the start of the film, is a performance artist using otherworldly drag that’s reminiscent of both Leigh Bowery and the alien princess creations of HR Giger. She struts through her small town of Magadan, a former gulag occupied location, in vertiginous heels, plastic tentacles and corsetry.
To say she’s brave is something of an understatement. She’s chased out of supermarkets by security guards for supposed obscenity; screamed at on the streets, and expelled from college. Yet, she remains calm and eloquent throughout. Her grandparents, although loving, cannot understand Marvin’s outfits, artistry or ambitions. There are many heart-breaking scenes of her justifying her very existence.
The tone is evenhanded throughout. There’s no triumphant conclusion, no trite “go girl” message here. Marvin’s struggle is real and her strides in life, extremely hard -won . As she sits doomscrolling and Putin brings in the troops, Marvin realises she has to flee for freedom, and escapes to Paris.
Over the course of the film, a fashion designer collaborates with Marvin, and her outfits, like the ones crafted from wire and tape, become increasingly symbolic of political resistance. As Marvin’s friend says, “Drag has always been a political act”. ‘Queendom’ is as beautiful and powerful a statement of intent as Marvin’s art itself – genuinely subversive.
Available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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