A box of letters, held in secret for nearly 60 years, ignites a 5-year exploration into a part of LGBTQ history that has never been told.The letters, written in the 1950s by a group of New York City drag queens, open a window into a forgotten world where being yourself meant breaking the law. This astounding film reconstructs this pre-Stonewall era as nine former drag queens, now in their 80s and 90s, reveal how they survived and even flourished against all odds.

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"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another; nothing more. [Those] who [have] felt the deepest grief [are] best able to experience supreme happiness.‚" -- Alexandre Dumas 2021 marks the centennial year of the Tulsa race massacre. I have felt a plethora of emotions processing this; no doubt, mirroring the sentiments of the rest of the BIPOC community. The most powerful of those emotions has been an existential and spiritual connection to my ancestors. We have experienced so many atrocities up until this very day.Yet, we continue to alchemize all of that pain into a fierce ball of eternal fire. An inferno that we metamorphose into love, laughter and life in countless mediums. Then, we pass the strength of that magical fire along to our community, our descendants and finally, the world. While I celebrate us all year long, once a year, I am honored to use the medium of cinema to shine a light on our stories. I give visibility and a platform to the artists celebrating our lives, our sorrows, our magic‚ in front of the lens and behind it. This year, through Afro-futurism, contemporary dance, animation, documentary, and many more, I present to you: Wicked Queer 2021's BIPOC short film program. Thank you to all of my BIPOCs, past, present and future.

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This year, Wicked Queer spotlights three distinct filmmakers navigating the pressures of Disability and Queerness. Join us for two perspectives on being a queer man with cerebral palsy and a short romp with an autistic transgender youth exploring friendship and love.

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