Out in the World: Cameroonian 'Drag Race' star hopes film inspires
ebar.comCameroon-born performance artist and "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season #1 winner BeBe Zahara Benet believes in the power of drag."Drag is having its moment in pop culture right now, but it won't last forever," said Benet. "This type of representation matters immensely.""Visibility is so crucial," she said, from things like drag storytime to the Emmy Award-winning "RuPaul's Drag Race."She hopes that the award-winning documentary, "Being BeBe", her music, and live and video performances "pushes the needle forward in opening eyes, hearts, and minds" in Africa and wakes the West up and activate people to "help liberate others.""Being BeBe" debuted on Fuse June 21 in the United States and on OUTtv in Canada.
The documentary traveled the film festival circuit in 2021, where it won the audience award for best documentary at the Provincetown International Film Festival and the jury prize for best documentary at Sound Unseen in Minneapolis.The 90-minute film follows the rise and pursuit of Cameroon-born performance artist Benet, and pulls back the curtain for an in-depth view of Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa, the man behind Benet.
Filmmaker Emily Branham followed Benet through more than 15 years of Ngwa's transformation into the drag artist, capturing Ngwa's vision and struggles following Benet's rapid rise to fame.
The film also takes an intimate look into where Benet came from and the love and support of her friends and family. Benet does not identify her age or sexual orientation and accepts all pronouns, she said.On the same day as the documentary's broadcast debut, Benet dropped two of her new singles, "Waiting" and "Smoke Signals," as well as the corresponding music videos to commemorate "Being BeBe," she told the Bay Area Reporter.The.
