Yesterday, a short film called Lipstick City debuted in Chicago at the Gman Tavern. Written, directed by, and starring Chicago drag queen Shea Couleé, the film is an eye catching tale of betrayal, lust, beauty, and drag. Couleé describes herself as "equal parts Bourgie and Banji", and her talent clearly expands the perimeters of drag, as seen through her film. I've been following Shea on social media for a while, and I was excited to see that earlier this year she appeared on Transformations with James St. James. (Click here to watch Shea's Transformations episode!)
Shea Coulee by Adam Ouahmane
An Indiegogo was started to help fund the project, and in just a month, Shea and her team were able to successfully raise almost $10,000. On the Indiegogo website, Lipstick City is described as: "A visually sumptuous exploration of the drag persona of model Shea
Couleé, this short 10-15 minute film will be an arresting display of
dance, music, and fashion. When high end fashion model Miss Couleé
discovers evidence that her powerful husband, Mr., isn’t the faithful
man she thought she married, she teams up with her ally Shea to go
underground into a glamorous and gritty world run by powerful
entrepreneur Chic to exact her revenge." The film opens with a quote about love by Euripides and a shot of the glamorous, french-speaking Miss Couleé alone in bed. We soon learn of her husband's adulterous activities, and through a few cameos by other Chicago drag artists, this story of infidelity and comeuppance is told. The art direction of the film is fantastic, not to mention the beautiful costuming as well. Despite being a display of Couleé's artistic talents, this film also displays the talent of her colleagues in the Chicago drag scene. Drag artists such as Sara Andrews, Valentine, Trannika Rex, Imp Queen, Dida Ritz, Kim Chi, and others appear in the film, and this collaboration of a bevy of creative, talented individuals lends itself to the quality of the piece as a whole. Lipstick City isn't the first time Shea has included her fellow Chicago queens in a video of hers, as many members of the Chicago queer scene appeared in her Beyoncé 7/11 parody. (Click here to watch!)
I hope Shea will continue to create more content, especially with her fellow Chicago entertainers, as Lipstick City is a stunning example of a culmination of drag, fashion, film, and community collaboration.
Watch Lipstick City and check out Shea's website here!
I hope Shea will continue to create more content, especially with her fellow Chicago entertainers, as Lipstick City is a stunning example of a culmination of drag, fashion, film, and community collaboration.
Watch Lipstick City and check out Shea's website here!
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