Venus Boyz

2001 Documentary

Gabriel Baur directs the documentary Venus Boyz, an intimate look at drag king culture and female masculinity in various parts of the world. Starting out on Drag King Night in New York City, the film introduces the lives of several women who discuss their fascination with dressing up like men. Mildred Gerestant is a data processor who performs in the evenings as a male rapper named Dred. Dressed as businessman Danny King, Diane Torr runs workshops to show other women the fine art of drag king-dom. Other subjects include Bridge Markland from Germany, Del LaGrace Volcano from London, and several others. After opening to festival acclaim throughout Europe, Venus Boyz won an honorable mention at the New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Director: Gabrielle Baur

 15 Reviews  5 Awards

Reviews

  • An utterly fascinating, beautifully crafted exploration of the world of drag kings -- women who dress, perform and/or live as men.

    - Variety

    20 January 2013

  • Baur's doc earnestly -- if not altogether adroitly -- examines masculinity as a performance, demonstrating that biology is not destiny.

    - Village Voice

    20 January 2013

  • She (Baur) has clearly earned the trust and respect of her subjects, the first qualification for any responsible documentarist, and they have repaid her with an intimate glimpse into their singular lives.

    Dave Kehr - The New York Times

    20 January 2013

  • It is clear that these individuals have exercised considerable courage and determination to sort out their sexual natures and to be true to them. They have the sturdy sense of human survivors, and in Venus Boyz Baur regards them with compassion and dignity.

    Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times

    20 January 2013

  • This provocative, at times languid, documentary from German experimental filmmaker Gabriel Baur is something of travelogue through this unexplored frontier, a mixed-up, shook-up borderland where nothing, especially not an individual's gender, should be ever be taken for granted.

    Ken Fox - TV Guide

    20 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Documentary

    Chicago International Film Festival (2002)

     

  • Lesbian Films

    Copenhagen Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (2002)

  • Gabrielle Baur

    Locarno International Film Festival (2001)

  • Best Documentary

    New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (2002)

  • Best Documentary (Bester Dokumentarfilm)

    Swiss Film Prize (2002)

     

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