Swann Queen: a short film
Donation protected
$upport SWANN QUEEN & fund our film! as of april 14, we're HALFWAY TO OUR GOAL! Thank you for helping us to honor drag and Swann's legacy in DC.
Hi I’m L and I’m a filmmaker and MFA film student in Washington, DC. My thesis project, SWANN QUEEN, is a short fiction film inspired by the real world's first drag queen, William Dorsey Swann, who hosted balls in DC in the late 1800s(!). The police routinely raided Swann's soirees, arresting and jailing attendees found in this "hell of iniquity." (Evening Star, January 1896)
SWANN QUEEN reimagines a night at Billy Swann’s drag ball, just before they’re raided by police, and Swann must choose to run or resist. I’m honored to co-create this short film with a powerful team that will hopefully include you, because it do take a village, and it do take nerve.
This fundraiser will allow us to pay our cast, crew, location fees, costumes, wigs, props, and much more. Filmmaking is expensive, but with your support, we'll be able to pay everyone what they deserve and make SWANN QUEEN a reality.
Why this film and why us?
SWANN QUEEN is inspired by William Dorsey Swann's story, and drag artists, queens, kings, and thems everywhere, especially DC. Swann Street NW will soon be renamed in honor of William Dorsey Swann, and we're excited to be part of this growing reclamation of our hometown queen. Our production team consists of Black, Latinx, trans and gender non-conforming drag performers, DC natives and longtime residents. We are honored to create a portal between us and the earliest drag performers in DC.
pictured above: Pussy Noir as Billy Swann, photo by Natasha Salvatierra
Organizer
L Miller
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC