More good news from Canada, with word that Conor Horgan’s superb documentary The Queen of Ireland has won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 29th Image+Nation Film Festival in Montreal, the oldest LGBT film festival in the country.
The Queen of Ireland is directed by film-maker and photographer Conor Horgan (One Hundred Mornings, Deep End Dance, The Beholder) and builds up a multi-faceted picture of a complex and compelling character through behind the scenes footage, archive, music and interviews with friends, peers and protégés.
Pandora ‘Panti’ Bliss is many things: part glamorous aunt, part Jessica Rabbit, she’s a wittily incisive performer with charisma to burn who is regarded as one of the best drag queens in the world. Created by Rory O’Neill, Panti is also an accidental activist and in her own words ‘a court jester, whose role is to say the un- sayable’. Over the last few years Rory has become a figurehead for LGBT rights in Ireland and since the recent scandal around Pantigate, his fight for equality and against homophobia has become recognised across the world.
The Queen of IrelandThe Queen of Ireland is produced by Katie Holly and Ailish Bracken for Blinder Films, with funding from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and RTÉ.
As the oldest film festival of its kind in Canada, image+nation stands as a premiere site for launching new and innovative media works to an informed and appreciative audience. Located in the cultural mecca of Montreal, image+nation offers LGBT filmmakers a unique opportunity to network with local creators, programmers and organisers.