Queendom review: No country for drag

For 21-year-old queer performance artist and activist Gena Marvin, her costumes and creations are somehow her only way to process grief, trauma and shame. In Agniia Galdanova's debut documentary Queendom that premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2023, Gena transforms into her beautifully provocative creations made out of tape and junk, and presents herself in front of the alarmingly hostile and conservative Russian public. Queendom introduces Gena walking across the frozen landscapes of Russia in a white fur coat, her face and hands painted white, paired with black gloves and matching high heels. Galdanova's lens, carefully orchestrated by cinematographer Ruslan Fedotov, follows her fascinating subject closely, yet there's always a careful distance between the context of the film's understanding of personal space and overarching political context. The searing power of Queendom is driven from the way Galdanova's lens channels Gena not as an anomaly to reflect the horrific political scenario of her country.