A new documentary by Annapolis Filmmakers follows a group of DC drag queens, drag kings and colorful performers who work as full-time government employees and spend their free time in drag, raising money for charities in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The Annapolis filmmakers launched a Seed and Spark campaign on Thursday, March 22.
“Queen of the Capital” introduces Muffy Blake Stephyns, a drag performer with high aspirations. She’s a member of the Imperial Court System, an international philanthropic drag organization. Every year, the local chapter of the Court elects an emperor and an empress. The film follows Muffy, both in and out of drag, from performing in full drag to working at the Department of Labor. Muffy let the filmmakers’ cameras follow her as she campaigns for empress and dreams of becoming the Queen of the Capital.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE.
“Getting to spend a year with the Court was a moving experience,” said Josh Davidsburg, director. “Muffy and her friends opened their lives to our cameras, they are an incredible group of people who dedicate their lives to helping others in the most fun way possible.”
The Imperial Court of Washington, D.C. raises as much as $60,000 a year, which all goes to charities in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The organizations has supported charities including The Walk to End HIV, Side by Side (a Richmond non-profit that helps LGBTQ youth) and the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia (the main character suffers from epilepsy). All three of these charities are prominently featured in the film.
“I am overwhelmed with joy after watching this beautiful film,” said Gina Washington, Regional Director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia. “Being featured in ‘Queen of the Capital’ gives us a great opportunity to showcase not only what we do, but how someone suffering from epilepsy could be a government bureaucrat, a grass-roots fundraiser and a drag queen.”
Lot1 Films finished production and is working on post-production. They have partnered with Docs in Progress as a fiscal sponsor and the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance. For more information, go to the seedandspark.com/fund/queen-of-the-capital.
“Queen of the Capital” is directed by Josh Davidsburg, an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. When he isn’t directing a documentary, he’s teaching full-time as a lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park, Philip Merrill College of Journalism. After working for more than a decade as a reporter for television news, he decided to expand into long-form, documentary storytelling. He’s produced documentary shorts, seen at film festivals across the country and is currently working on a feature-length film.
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