Website Launched!

July 6, 2009

After having a really rough temp website up for months, we have finally launched the new and very sparkly:

www.bebedocumentary.com

Chances are you’re already here, basking in all the sequins and BeBe-ness.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions for making it better.

A million thanks to my brilliant and talented friends Brent Chesanek (design & execution) and Joey Salim (preliminary design consultation) for helping make it happen.  I owe you both many cocktails.

Twin Cities Pride 2009

June 29, 2009

Despite rumors that she would be in San Francisco for their Pride festivities, BeBe was at Loring Park representing her roots this past weekend for the Twin Cities Pride Festival.  She signed autographs on Saturday at the Comcast/Logo booth, did back-to-back shows at the packed-to-the-gills Gay 90s on Saturday and Sunday, and rode the Gay 90s float with the rest of the gorgeous LaFemme girls in the parade on Sunday.

It was a whirlwind, but we got some great footage.  It was also a real nice excuse to return to Minneapolis, catch up with BeBe, get the details on my friend Joey’s engagement, and see my family.  Selected Taste-of-TC-Pride-Weekend memories:  spiked cherry snow cones, fennel and tarragon tater tots, and a delicious Australian Semillon….

BeBe Speaks to Our Youth

May 28, 2009

On Wednesday, May 27, BeBe was invited to speak to Our Youth, an organization designed to help GLBTQ youth and their straight allies in Jersey City, NJ.  Approximately 75 high school age kids were there to meet BeBe (and to enjoy a delicious family-style dinner provided by Rob & his grandma!).   Most of the youth were big fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and BeBe led an informal Q&A where she responded to questions about her experiences both on the show and in her real life.  She emphasized how important it was for her to find the strength to turn external negativity into positive energy, cultivating self-acceptance and self-love while growing up “different” in Cameroon.

Jennie Livingston & Paris Is Burning at 92Y Tribeca

May 9, 2009

It’s not every day you get to meet one of your heroes and see her film projected off a celluloid print!

The new-ish 92Y Tribeca hosted a screening of Paris Is Burning on Friday, May 8. The hit documentary about drag balls in 1980s New York City made a massive impact on independent filmmaking, popular culture (Vogue-ing, anyone?), and of course, drag queens everywhere.  With almost 20 years passed since its 1990 release, the film now serves as a heartbreaking record and memorial of both a bygone era and some incredible individuals who did not make it to the other side of the AIDS crisis.

I attended the film with my editor, Ali, as well as a few of the awesome interns that have been supporting us this spring:  Jewel, Matt & Stephen.  Stephen had never seen the film, and Jewel hadn’t seen it since its theatrical release in 1991.  BeBe’s world of drag and female impersonation, which has been based primarily in Minneapolis thus far, is vastly different from the one that Paris Is Burning covers.  The communities and forums for drag performance have evolved significantly since then.  But the passion, creativity and individuality of each performer on the Paris scene rings timeless and true.

Jennie Livingston, the director of the film, did a Q&A after the screening.  She talked about some of the challenges she faced while making the film (it took her 7 years to finish, as they had to continuously interrupt their shooting schedule to raise more money to pay for the 16mm film & transfers), and shared anecdotes about the close relationships she had with a couple of the subjects – especially Dorian Corey and Willy Ninja.

I was thrilled to meet Ms. Livingston after the screening as well.  She generously offered some invaluable words of advice and encouragement to our little team.

“If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.” -Dorian Corey

BeBe wins RuPaul's Drag Race!

March 24, 2009

After watching RuPaul’s Drag Race online every Monday since the premiere in February, I was convinced that my dear friend and documentary subject BeBe Zahara Benet should win the title of “The Next Drag Superstar of the World.”  But I didn’t think she would.  Why?  Not because I might have some sort of bias – BeBe’s superiority as a contestant was practically quantifiable, in my humble (and totally un-biased!) opinion.  But honestly, she had done such an amazing job keeping mum that many of her friends and colleagues were convinced that she didn’t win. In fact, she full-on lied to me when I pressed her in confidence about the outcome of the show after she returned from the taping in LA.  “Between you and me, I didn’t win.  But I’m very happy with how it all went.”  Serves me right for trying to get it out of her!  She signed a contract, for Pete’s sake.

It was only when I learned that Nina Flowers would not be attending the finale party in NYC with the other two finalists, BeBe and Rebecca Glasscock, that I began to get suspicious. Nina was my second favorite on the show, and I thought that maybe Ru would want to crown someone with an edgy style completely different from her own.  But if Nina wasn’t going to be there, how could she receive the giant check? That’s not much of a photo-op.

Exactly.  Our queen reigns supreme.  Couldn’t be prouder.  It was a glorious night.  The energy at Therapy was indescribable.  A great finale to a really well-done reality television show.  Much respect to World of Wonder, RuPaul, and Logo for pulling off a series that simultaneously:  A) cleverly poked fun at our other favorite guilty-pleasure reality shows, B) did justice to the hard work and craftsmanship that professional drag performers put into their art form, and C) made us laugh, cry, and want to know more about each unique performer in the cast.

Looking forward to Season 2.  But let’s all remember who won it first, shall we?