7:00PM, September 18, 2026 (Doors Open at 6:30PM)
FRIENDS OF LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM – PTBO PUBLIC LIBRARY
We’re celebrating Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride Week with an evening of Queer stories and community. Join us for this special screening of the landmark 1968 documentary The Queen preceded by Diane Obomsawin’s award-winning animated short I Like Girls. The program features an introduction and post-screening response Q&A with Sahira the Djinn.
This is a pay-what-you-can (PWYC) event.
“The mother of all drag documentaries.” – Mekado Murphy, The New York Times
“A gutsy, funny… really very moving documentary.” – Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times
THE QUEEN | Frank Simon | USA | 1968 | 68 mins)
More than 40 years before RuPaul’s Drag Race, this ground-breaking documentary about the 1967 Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant introduced audiences to the world of competitive drag. The film takes us backstage to kiki with the contestants as they rehearse, throw shade, and transform into their drag personas in the lead-up to the big event. Organized by 2SLGBTQIA+ icon and activist Flawless Sabrina, the competition boasted a star-studded panel of judges including Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers, and Terry Southern. But perhaps most memorable is an epic diatribe calling out the pageant’s bias delivered by Crystal LaBeija, who would go on to form the influential House of LaBeija, heavily featured in Paris Is Burning (1990). A vibrant piece of queer history, The Queen can now be seen in full resplendence thanks to a new restoration from the original camera negative.
I LIKE GIRLS | Diane Obomsawin | Canada | 2016 | 8 mins
First love is an intoxicating experience, but with it can come excruciating awkwardness, unrequited emotions, and confusing issues of identity. In her trademark playful style, Quebec cartoonist and animator Diane Obomsawin, a.k.a. Obom, adapts her latest graphic novel for the screen, using endearing anthropomorphic figures to tell poignant real-life stories of love.
Partners
This event is supported by:
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