KingDom
Six drag kings embark on a moustache curling adventure to steal the Monument to Masculinity, a solid gold urinal, in a mad-cap attempt to keep their gentlemen’s club 'KingDom' afloat in times of economic peril.
In a dark alleyway the mysterious Moloko Jones narrates his exciting tale of gender bending absurdity, and the story of that fateful night comes to life on the screen. He describes how KingDom faced imminent closure after he accidentally blew up the car of the famed, feared and definitely dubious Billy the Scissor. No one has ever seen Billy but his reputation proceeds him and he is not to be crossed. Without repaying Billy the damages of £500K, our cast of eclectic kings face the loss of their club and a humiliating, uncertain and undoubtedly unpleasant future.
The motley crew realise they’ll have to revert to their roots in robbery and deception, and what better to steal than the Monument to Masculinity, on display at a local art gallery. They could pay off Billy, save their beloved bar and get their hands on an iconic work of art reflecting what they value above all else; Manhood. Scoping out the gallery they realise the guard is a bit of a ladies man and conclude that all they need is a feminine distraction to get the gold. They agree that no one could capture the essence of a seductive woman better than a man, so the boys drag up, and in some like it hot style, the heist begins.
Needless to say all does not quite go to plan but, ever resourceful, the boys contort their way through lasers and hang from the ceiling to lift the prize. Just as the alarm goes off they escape with the urinal. Back at KingDom eager to celebrate they run into a series of unfortunate discoveries. Not only have they been duped, the Monument is a fake, but duped by big bad Billy himself who is, to their shock horror, not a he at all, but a big bad she.
This comic satire puts the underrepresented art of the drag king centre stage and, in a time when live performance remains complicated, gives some of the UK's finest queer cabaret artists a chance to showcase their work on screen. It captures the theatricality, comedy and artistry of the queer cabaret scene and shows, above all, the artifice and construct of traditional notions of gender especially in film and mainstream cinema genres. This is not a drama about women being drag kings. This is a world RUN by kings. This is the king’s world. This is their KingDom.
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Joanna VymerisDirector
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Molly MorossaWriter
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Joanna VymerisProducer
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Molly MorossaKey Cast"Moloko"
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Ruby GaskellKey Cast"Frank"
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Veronica ThompsonKey Cast"Randy"
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Rosie BartleyKey Cast"Steve"
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Madi Beau FortuneKey Cast"Beau Jangles"
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SymoneKey Cast"Barry Badass"
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Lilly SnatchdragonKey Cast"Celeste Lacroix"
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Len BlancoKey Cast"Guard"
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:23 minutes 23 seconds
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Completion Date:January 3, 2022
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Production Budget:20,000 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:digital
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
Joanna is a multidisciplinary director and producer being the founder and director of The Feathers of Daedalus Circus, a London based contemporary circus company. During the pandemic she has moved more into film, directing numerous music videos for NOWEX and starting the prestigious MA in film producing at the National Film and Television School UK. KingDom is her debut short fiction film as a director.
Drag kings are so rarely given the stage and screen time they so deserve and I very much hope that KingDom will be part of an ongoing drive in queer communities to give these incredible performers who work in such a creative and political manner, the platform they deserve.