New doc created by Elon students to screen at North Carolina Gay + Lesbian Film Festival

“Drag Queen Storytime,” a short documentary film made by Elon University students Emma Kopkowski ’20 and Tyler Litwin ’20, will be screened at this week’s 2018 North Carolina Gay + Lesbian Film Festival in Durham. It will play alongside films from around the world at the 23rd annual event. Billed as the second-largest gay, lesbian and transgender film festival in the Southeast, the event runs Aug. 16-19 at The Carolina Theatre of Durham.

The cinema and television arts majors spent a semester producing the film in their Directing the Documentary class, led by Associate Professor Nicole Triche. The short documentary features two drag queens who read to children at a Greensboro bookstore, promoting diversity and inclusion while challenging gender stereotypes. The film provides a glimpse into the lives of the two drag queens, their perspectives, and the reaction of young attendees.

Here’s a look at the trailer.

In recent years, similar reading events have grown in popularity at libraries, bookstores and schools across the United States and Canada. The most prominent such program is Drag Queen Story Hour, created by writer Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions in 2015.

During the four-day festival, “Drag Queen Storytime” will be shown as part of a collection of films titled “From a Different Angle.” The session runs approximately 100 minutes. Additionally, the student filmmakers, who completed the elondocs program last year, will host a Q&A session.

The film’s first screening is Thursday, Aug. 16, at 9:20 p.m. in Cinema Two. A second screening is planned for Friday, Aug. 17, at 4:40 p.m., also in Cinema Two.

Following the conclusion of the festival, The Carolina Theatre will host a re-screening of “Drag Queen Storytime” on Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 7:20 p.m.