Russia: Last News

Manuel Betancourt Drag is not — or at least need not be — political, let alone radical in its politics. But when such artistry is targeted by politicians and policies that aim to make it disappear from public view altogether (whether in the name of country or church or children or any combination thereof), drag artists are left with little recourse than to make their own bodies and bodies of work stand for something. In Agniia Galdanova’s fabulous, if sobering, documentary “Queendom,” audiences are called to witness the begrudging radicalization of Jenna Marvin.

The young queer nonbinary drag artist would rather be designing and showcasing her work with little worry. Yet at every turn, the increasingly violent anti-LGBT policies of Putin’s Russia push her to find some way out and through. A lithe young Russian with no hair on her head and no eyebrows to speak of has painted her entire head pearl white.

She’s also painted on a few clown-like black and white flourishes on her face (teardrop outlines around the eyes, bold black lines around the contour of the mouth). With a frilled white collar, a matching corset, a pair of black leather boots and gloves (and a stylish eggshell coat for warmth), she sets out on her day. That first entails doing an impromptu photoshoot amid the snowy, icy landscapes that surround her and, later, going grocery shopping.

Only, as these first scenes in “Queendom” make clear, such a simple and otherwise ordinary day is made anything but when Jenna is asked to leave the grocery store. The incongruity of such a scene (two officers assert they’re not kicking Jenna out but actually just asking her to leave since her outfit is “disturbing the peace”) forcefully places audiences squarely in the untenable situation Jenna cannot escape. She is just trying to live her life.