One Night in New York

Directed by: Jaishri Abichandani

United States / 2006 / 1:00 mins / Video

"The Stories We Tell": Experimental Shorts Program

I am interested in the moment of transcendence when the fantasy becomes real. Many of the drag queens in this series have sought asylum from their countries on grounds of sexual orientation. The images in this series make no attempt at an in depth documentary look at the lives of my friends; they are instead moments when fantasy is achieved in life by a collaboration between subject & artist, space and spectators. The lament is rendered by Bijli, one of the most beloved drag queens in the queer South Asian community, bringing a pathos to otherwise celebratory images.