Wigstock: The Movie

The documentary is about a drag gathering held every year in Manhattan with a history of three decades behind it. The film concentrates on the spectacle of the event: careful costumes, extravagant wigs and stage performances that use excess deliberately. The camera takes in both the stage and the moments of preparation, so how much work it takes becomes visible. The account does not turn the participants into objects of curiosity; it shows them as masters of their own craft. Having been filmed in 1995, it also stands as the record of a particular generation. Well known names appear on the stage, each carrying a style of their own. What the gathering means for the community is felt throughout in the background. Barry Shils’s eighty five minute American documentary was completed in 1995.