* Opening Night performance by Cookie Couture! *

** New 4K restoration from the original camera negative! **

More than 40 years before RuPaul’s Drag Race, this ground-breaking documentary about the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant introduced audiences to the world of competitive drag. The film takes us backstage to kiki with the contestants as they rehearse, throw shade, and transform into their drag personas in the lead-up to the big event. Organized by LGBT icon and activist Flawless Sabrina, the competition boasted a star-studded panel of judges including Andy Warhol and his superstars Edie Sedgwick and Mario Montez. But perhaps most memorable is an epic diatribe calling out the pageant scene’s racial bias delivered by Crystal LaBeija, who would go on to form the influential House of LaBeija, heavily featured in Paris Is Burning (1990). A vibrant piece of LGBT history, The Queen can now be seen in full resplendence thanks to a new restoration from the original camera negative.

Description and all photos on this page courtesy of Kino Lorber.

“it’s extraordinary because it captures so much, doubling as a time capsule of a generation’s innocence and fashion-forward sophistication.” – Rolling Stone

“But what makes “The Queen” special is its ability to take us back in time, letting us be flies on the wall as pioneers of the soon-to-be-born LGBTQ movement grapple with boyfriend issues, the Vietnam War, family problems — and with being underground in a society where cross-dressing can be a crime.” – San Francisco Chronicle