Glennda and Camille Do Downtown is a 1993 documentary short film directed by Glenn Belverio. The documentary follows Belverio (in the guise of drag queen Glennda Orgasm) and academic Camille Paglia as they tour downtown New York City. The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, and won Best Short Documentary at the Chicago Underground Film Festival that same year.
| Glennda and Camille Do Downtown | |
|---|---|
 Sundance Film Festival poster | |
| Directed by | Glenn Belverio |
| Starring | Glenn Belverio Camille Paglia |
| Cinematography | Julie Clark Stevin Michels |
| Edited by | Stevin Michels Glenn Belverio |
Release date |
|
Running time | 29 minutes (television) 15 minutes (Sundance) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Synopsis
editThe documentary follows drag queen Glennda Orgasm and critic Camille Paglia as they visit a various sites in New York City, including the Stonewall Inn and the Chelsea Piers. The pair discuss topics such as LGBT activism, the state of contemporary feminism, and gay pornography. Orgasm and Paglia also have a confrontation with protestors supporting Women Against Pornography.[1][2]
Production and release
editGlennda and Camille Do Downtown was filmed on May 15, 1993.[3] It originally aired on Manhattan Cable Public Access Television on June 14 and 17 that same year,[3] as an episode Belverio's public access television series Glennda and Friends.[4][5] A shortened 15-minute version of the film, edited down from the original 29-minute long version that aired on Glennda and Friends, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994.[3]
Reception
editThe film was awarded Best Short Documentary at the 1994 Chicago Underground Film Festival.[6][7] According to Paglia, Glennda and Camille Do Downtown was banned from the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival and the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival "for reasons of political incorrectness".[6]
References
edit- ^ Steiner, Wendy (November 20, 1994). "Advertisements for Themselves". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012.
- ^ "Glennda and Camille Do Downtown". Video Data Bank. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c Paglia 2011, pp. 277–278.
- ^ "The Brenda and Glennda Show/Glennda and Friends by Glenn Belverio". Walker Art Center. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "Camille Paglia on Drag Queens and Democrats: Obama Behaved Like 'King at Versailles'". Observer. March 20, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Paglia 2011, p. xxiv.
- ^ "Film Starring Feminist Provocateur Camille Paglia and Drag Queen Glennda Orgasm to Screen at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, June 24" (Press release). May 22, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Paglia, Camille (2011). Vamps & Tramps: New Essays. Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 9780307765567.