United States
A queer Russian risks her life for her art in the 2023 documentary Queendom, screening on Thursday, October 10th at 5:30 pm.
Queendom follows nonbinary Russian artist Jenna/Gena Marvin, whose performance art focuses on elaborate, over-the-top costumes – but this isn’t the sort of drag you’d see on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Marvin’s work is surreal, even off-putting – she cites the “Slenderman” urban legend as a major inspiration – and central to her work is the shock of seeing an otherworldly, alien creature in a mundane setting. And Marvin’s elaborate gear isn’t just for shallow shock value – she’s deliberately thumbing her nose at Russia’s anti-LGBT laws, which prohibit “promoting” non-traditional representations of gender or sexuality. Marvin already risks abuse, violence and arrest for her gender-bending art – and on top of that, Russia invaded Ukraine while the documentary was filming. Taking her head-turning looks to anti-war protests got Marvin arrested and summoned to court for evading Russia’s military draft…
Queendom is unrated, in Russian with subtitles, and runs for 1 hour, 38 minutes.
For more information, please call 541-882-8894.