KingDom (2022) - Joanna Vymeris - short film (22 minutes)

In 2022 KingDom the film premiered, but KingDom is more than just a short film; it is a collective. The film is written by Molly Beth Morossa, and produced and directed by Joanna Vymeris. It was supported by The Arts Council England and 150 Kickstarter backers. As well as the film, the KingDom project involved an exhibition at Art Hub in London, and live performances at The Glory and Out Out Bradford.

Six drag kings embark on a moustache curling adventure to steal the Monument to Masculinity, a solid gold urinal, in a mad-cap attempt to keep their gentlemen’s club 'KingDom' afloat in times of economic peril.  

This comic satire put the underrepresented art of the drag king centre stage and, in a time when live performance was complicated (lockdowns), gave some of the UK's finest queer cabaret artists a chance to showcase their work on screen. It captures the theatricality, comedy and artistry of the queer cabaret scene and shows, above all, the artifice and construct of traditional notions of gender especially in film and mainstream cinema genres. This is not a drama about women being drag kings. This is a world RUN by kings. This is the king’s world. This is their KingDom. 

Joanna cast KingDom during the first two lockdowns and developed the project over zooms working with some already established drag kings to build the group and develop new characters. KingDom was completed in January 2022 and launched at the iconic Glory in London. It had its international premier at Wicked Queer in 2022 and has screened at 20 international festivals in 6 countries. It was awarded best short at Some Prefer Cake, best director at LALGBTQ+ film festival and an award for excellence at Unbordered LGBTQ. It also won best editing at QueerStories, and best short at Orchid International Queer film festival ROSARITO. It has screened at the biggest queer film festivals in India, South Korea and central and eastern Europe, as well as at Brighton pride. Full credits.