I Am Divine, the wonderful documentary look at the drag queen who became John Waters’ muse, is out on DVD now. It’s a great look at a fascinating person who died too young, celebrating someone who pushed the envelope of both sexuality and life in general.
We talked to the film’s director, Jeffrey Schwarz, about the film.
Why is it so important to tell Divine’s story?
At this time where the LGBT community is quickly becoming absorbed into mainstream society, I think it’s important to celebrate outsider artists like Divine. It’s always the rebels and the freaks that make life easier for the rest of us. Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized recording artist and screen icon and gives courage to anyone who’s ever been mocked, ridiculed, or ostracized. His story gives us hope that anything’s possible. It’s kind of the ultimate “it gets better” story and he’s a poster child for misfit youth. I wanted the next generation to get to know their Queen Mother and find inspiration to fulfill their own creative destiny in his story. [Read more…]
The full programme for this year’s London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival is due to be announced soon (on Feb 19th, to be precise), but to tease us with what will be showing from March 14th-24th, it’s been revealed that the festival will open with the European premiere of the new documentary I Am Divine.