DC Shorts - Better Known as Peaches Christ
Drag icon Peaches Christ offers a rare, intimate glimpse into her process of transformation, and describes the path from stifled teen to brazen cult hero.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Nate Visconti
Watch Better Known as Peaches Christ here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Jeff (my co director) and I are both fans of Peaches, and we were interested in the process of internal and external transformation that takes place in preparation for a drag show. Drag is as important and relevant as ever now. It’s a subversive act that is also a profound celebration of identity. I think a lot of people, especially in the past year, have felt like their identity has been under attack. We wanted to make a film, and actually a series of films, that celebrates diversity in thought, experience, and identity.
We wanted to make something that was accessible to people that have never seen a drag show, and get them interested in drag as an art form. At the same time, it was important to make a film about someone who learned to celebrate their own uniqueness, and we are hoping that it inspires others to embrace the qualities that make them unique.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The film gives you a rare look at a well-known drag queen’s physical and mental process of transformation. It’s a film about love, acceptance, and growth. If you’ve ever felt marginalized or didn’t feel like you belonged, this is a film for you.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think that the film is ultimately about Joshua overcoming obstacles and embracing his identity. We all have parts of our own identity that we have not fully accepted or embraced and I think Joshua’s story is an inspiration for all of us to embrace what makes us special.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We didn’t have a script for the film, but we did have a series of questions that we planned on asking both Joshua and Peaches. We didn’t have a ton of access to our subject before the film, so we had questions about a ton of subjects. On the day of we ended up recording 2 hour long interviews. We asked follow up questions on topics that seemed to get the most animated responses out of Joshua and Peaches.
The real evolution of the film came in the editing process. We knew what we wanted the visuals to look like from the beginning, but we didn’t quite know what the story was going to be until the editing process. Given that we had 2 + hours of interviews and wanted to bring the film down to around 3 minutes, we had a lot of options. Jeff and I worked with our editor to find a story that we thought had a sense of development and resolution and that could appeal to a wider audience.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been great so far! One thing that we struggled with a bit, is that we were making a film about a community that we are not a part of. For that reason, Jeff and I made sure to get feedback from a number of people in the drag and LGBTQ communities.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
We were thrilled to have RuPaul tweet out our film. To have a drag queen of her notoriety give some form of validation of the film was amazing for us.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We are trying to make inspirational stories and platforms like wearemovingstories help to give a voice to those inspirational stories. We need more diversity in thought and experience in the media, and that, ultimately, starts with supporting people from marginalized communities in the arts, and developing audiences for those art forms.
And for folks who consider themselves allies, and/or RuPaul’s Drag Race fans, but haven’t gone to a drag show, I highly recommend going and supporting your local drag community!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are looking for anyone that can help us get the film out there! Stories about identity and about marginalized communities are so important today.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
For us, it was important to make a film about someone who learned to celebrate their own uniqueness, and we are hoping that it inspires others to embrace the qualities that make them unique.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Better Known as Peaches Christ is one of our first collaborations together. Since shooting BKAPC, we also filmed a music video in Iceland (in post-production), a short comedy involving emojis, a short drama about the creative process (in post), a drone exploration of the Oakland Port, a short narrative about a proposal gone wrong (in post), a short doc about a 74 year-old female bodybuilder (in post) and a short doc about the captain of the Golden State Road Warriors, Chuck Gill (in pre).
Interview: September 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Better Known as Peaches Christ
Drag icon Peaches Christ offers a rare, intimate glimpse into her process of transformation, and describes the path from stifled teen to brazen cult hero.
Length: 3:45
Director: Nate Visconti and Jeff Dragomanovich
Producer: Nate Visconti
Writer: Nate Visconti and Jeff Dragomanovich
About the writer, director and producer:
Nate Visconti is a San Francisco Bay Area native. For the last 10 years, Nate has produced narrative and documentary shorts, worked on film and television sets, and shot and produced corporate training, recruiting, and promotional videos. Nate and the other filmmakers on Better Known as Peaches Christ have created a film collective to make films together.
Jeff Dragomanovich is freelance sound mixer who's worked on feature films, commercial and corporate videos. He is the owner and operator of Appetite For Production. Jeff is a San Francisco Bay Area native and has worked in the industry for nearly 10 years. His love of film led him to study cinema at San Francisco State University where he fell in love with documentary filmmaking. Better Known as Peaches Christ is the third short documentary that he has directed.
Key cast: Joshua Grannell as Peaches Christ
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Distributors, Film Festival Directors, Jounralists
Social media handles: @fourcornerlabs
Facebook: http://facebook.com/FourCornerLabs/
Twitter: @fourcornerlabs
Instagram: @fourcornerlabs
Other: www.fourcornerlabs.com
Where can I see it in the next month?