Private Project

Temporary Queens - Ladies from dusk till dawn

Drag Queens are peculiar artists who do not follow the rules, hence they can be hard to define. All the artists of this documentary come from this unique world. We want to connect the audience with this subculture that can be difficult to understand, especially for those who are not directly involved.

  • Matteo Tortora
    Director
    Ubi tu Gaius ego Gaia (2013), La donna pipistrello - The bath woman (2015)
  • Matteo Tortora
    Writer
  • Andrea Rapallini
    Producer
  • Bianca Baldecchi
    Producer
  • Cris Fosella
    Key Cast
  • Diego Claudio
    Key Cast
  • Valerio Chellini
    Key Cast
  • Aurora Tieri
    Key Cast
  • Matteo Laguni
    Cinematographer
  • Federico Bezzi
    Still Photographer
  • Boomker Sound
    Audio Editing
  • Roanoke
    Original Soundtrack
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Temporary Queens - Regine dal tramonto all'alba
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 15, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    HDV
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Matteo Tortora

Matteo Tortora is a screenwriter, director and editor from Livorno. He has been living in Florence for more than twelve years. His main field is documentary cinema. He made the first italian lgbt mockumentary, Ubi tu Gaius ego Gaia (2013) and he directed, La donna pipistrello - The bath woman (2015). He is currently filming a new documentary, Il calciatore invisibile - The invisible soccer player, an inquiry about homosexuality in soccer.

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Director Statement

The first time I saw Valerio he was dancing on a podium outside the Italian most famous gay club. It was an hypnotic scene, but sad at the same time. He was so tall on that podium, about 6.5 feet (2 meters), he seemed a female character from Fellini's imagination and all around him just a distant audience. This is the feeling I want to share with this movie, without any judgment. I just want to show all the effort those performers has to make constantly, show after show, club after club.

This documentary shows some key moments in the line of work of the four protagonists, but also individual interviews. I've followed them in many events, but also during private moments. During day and night I had the opportunity to share their dreams, their problems and their expectations. I've tried to catch the deep meaning of being a drag queen, for them and for their audience. But also how their sexual orientation influenced their life and work choices.

More than twenty four months of shooting, with interviews but also long moments where the camera follows their actions quietly. It was a huge work of observation in the clubs, when I was trying to be the closest I could without biased their actions. A bare soundtrack and a rough photography complete the movie, with the attempt to recreate the authentic atmosphere of those moments.