Las reinas de los cuentos (The Queens of the Stories)

After the film, step beyond the enchanting world of this documentary to engage with the queens themselves! Barbie Q and Raquel Ita will be loud, live, and in-color to discuss the film's production, expand on their experiences, and answer audience questions.

Synopsis

Two Latinx drag queen activists in San Diego use storytelling to educate and empower children, foster community, and spread a universal message of understanding and self-acceptance. Barbie Q and Raquel Ita inspire a love of reading while teaching deeper lessons of building an equally diverse and inclusive society.

We learn of the queen's backgrounds, watch their performance, hear their aspirations for using the art of drag to enrich children's lives with reading, and enter into an imaginative world of storytime via an animated sequence.

Production

Not rated | 13 min. | Directed by Paul Detweiler | Independently produced | 2021

Featuring: Barbie Q and Raquel Ita

About the Director

Paul Detwiler is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and science educator based in San Diego who is interested in new media and documentaries, and in developing creative filmic collaborations between artists, academics, and deep thinkers. His films reflect fluid, metaphorical spaces exploring the intersections of memory, lyricism, and desire in queer subcultures. His films have screened at over 100 festivals on 5 continents, winning 10 awards. His mission is to create artistic and socially relevant film projects that entertain, educate, inspire, and challenge audiences to develop new understandings of our shared humanity.

Picture This features free film screenings every Monday at 6:30 pm in the Central Library's Neil Morgan Auditorium. Check back here, on the library calendar, for the most up-to-date lineup of films.

This program is free and open to the public; no registration is required. Underground parking can be accessed from 11th Ave and is free for 2 hours with validation in the main lobby. The Central Library entrance is also conveniently located along the Blue and Orange trolley lines, between the Park/Market and 12th/Imperial trolley stops.