‘Queens of Joy,’ First LGBTQIA+ Doc to Be Broadcast in Ukraine, Unveils Trailer, Director Pleas for ‘Safeguarding’ of Queer Soldiers (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor In 2022, a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine that resulted in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war that started in 2014, filmmaker Olga Gibelinda saw herself capturing the opposite of sorrow: joy. “Queens of Joy,” which premieres as part of the Newcomers Competition at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, chronicles the lives of three drag queens who chose to continue to live — and perform — in Ukraine during the war.

You can watch an exclusive trailer courtesy of Variety below: “Queens of Joy” is making history even before its world premiere as one of three projects chosen by Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne in their first-ever effort to co-produce films.

It will also be the first LGBTQ+ film shown on the public national broadcaster. “‘Queens of Joy’ is evidence that Ukraine is a free and tolerant country.

I can’t imagine seeing such a film in the totalitarian states,” said Sergiy Nedzelskyy, head of co-production and outsource commissioning at Suspilne Ukraine, in a public statement. “People will have the opportunity to see how LGBTQ+ people have chosen to stay in the country and support Ukraine,” Gibelinda tells Variety. “We have a lot of LGBTQ+ voices in the army, fighting on the frontlines.