The Queen of Ireland (2015)

An uplifting documentary about Ireland`s superstar drag queen Panti Bliss as she rises from ‘giant cartoon woman` to one of the highest-profile activists in the LGBTIQ community. Within mainstream media, Rory O`Neill and his drag alter-ego Panti Bliss are commentators on the fringes, standing on the outside, looking in and saying the unsayable. Conor Horgan`s five years in the making documentary follows Rory`s journey of self-discovery against the backdrop of Ireland`s 2015 referendum on marriage equality. From dancing on stage with Cyndi Lauper in Japan in 1994 to becoming a national scapegoat, to causing a global online sensation at the Abbey Theatre in 2014, Panti Bliss has constantly defied neat categorisation. Instead, Rory forges a powerful, persuasive and hugely popular new voice in Irish society at the exact moment the LGBTIQ community – and the entire country – needed it most.