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The Queen + Jazmin (15)

Senior Community Cinema x Queer 60s

,Cinema 2
A still from The Queen, showing two drag queens, one in front of the other, talking to the camera in a dark room.

Frank Simon’s classic documentary follows the run-up to a 1967 New York drag pageant, featuring a barnstorming appearance by the legendary Crystal LaBeija. 

24-year-old drag queen Flawless Sabrina is our guide as we are immersed in the activities of the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest, a pageant at the New York Town Hall. It’s a major occasion, with celebrity judges and fierce competitors. Despite the glitz and glamour, this is an illegal event – when The Queen was made, drag was forbidden in New York State. 

The Queen is packed with memorable characters, including Sabrina’s protégé Rachel Harlow and the soon-to-be-iconic Dorian Corey, later immortalised in Paris is Burning (1990). It saves the best for last, when legendary queen Crystal LaBeija launches a furious and, many may feel, justified diatribe about the biases of the competition, a speech later sampled by musician Frank Ocean.

Tagged with: Cinema Senior Community Cinema Queer 60s

Jazmin will be screened before The Queen.

Film information
  • Release year   1968
  • Country of origin   USA
  • Director   Frank Simon
  • Runtime   1hr 8mins

Programme

Jazmin

Nicole Sullivan | Australia | Documentary | 4 min

Jazmin Theodora is a local legend and Tarot reader in Nimbin, a village in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia. Jazmin uses her psychic abilities to help people get in touch with who they are. A story about being yourself, owning who you are - and being proud of it.

Presented in partnership with Women Over Fifty Film Festival

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Cinema 2

Location
Barbican Cinema 2 & 3 are located on Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance. From Silk Street, you’ll see a zebra crossing that will take you across the road to the venue. 

Address
Beech Street
London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.