Film during the 1993 and 1994 Wigstock festivals, Wigstock: The Movie gives us both the onstage performances and backstage realness of one of the most historically important American queer festivals. Beginning in 1984 in a park in NYC’s East Village, by 1995 Wigstock was drawing tens of thousands of people from all over the world as one of the largest outdoor celebrations of queer culture in the world at the time.

Featuring musical performances by dance icons like Dee-Lite, Crystal Waters, and Chic as well as the legendary drag/queer icons Lady Bunny, Joey Arias, and RuPaul at her 90s pop star height, this film is equally a concert film as it is a cultural revelation.

Despite 1995 marking the height of annual deaths during the US AIDS Crisis, Wigstock (both the festival and the documentary) served as a reminder of queer joy and resilience. 30 years later we live in a country that is just as double sided: RuPaul’s Drag Race has become mainstream popular culture but drag queens have become dehumanized culture war fodder for the fascist right. Where HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence but simply being trans is increasingly dangerous. Wigstock: The Movie is an uplifting reminder that even in the darkest of times there will always be queer joy.