Cross-dressing and Drag on Screen

Series Site

This summer and fall, Anthology presents a series of related programs exploring the diverse ways in which the cinema has reflected or embodied gender transgression. We inaugurated one component of the overall project in March, with a series – organized in collaboration with performance artist John Epperson, whose alter-ego Lypsinka was let loose on the world 35 years ago – showcasing the history of drag on screen. That series continues in June with a selection of films illustrating the various ways filmmakers have depicted, or utilized, cross-dressing, drag and performative gender transgression.

The program is loosely structured to highlight three main categories: documentaries portraying particular drag artists or festivals (the relevant films in this installment include VENUS BOYZ and OCAÑA), fictional films portraying this rich counter-culture (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SUSAN JANE? and others), and films whose performers themselves cross-dress in order to play characters of another gender (including A MAN LIKE EVA).

Elsewhere on this calendar, we inaugurate an ongoing series entitled THE CINEMA OF TRANSGENDER; click here for more details.

Guest curated by John “Lypsinka” Epperson.