Small Town Girl, Chloe Cherry

September 27, 2023

Why aren’t there more up-and-coming actresses as imperturbable as Chloe Cherry? Then, it’d be easier to prove that she’s a standout. She’s a total punk and a steady beam of light well on her way to doing some major things. At 18, she moved from a religious rural neighborhood in South Eastern, Pennsylvania to Miami, Florida to work alongside some of the adult film industry’s biggest studs and starlets, eventually working in a film that parodied the lesbian romance in Sam Levinson’s acclaimed show about pharmaceutically-fueled teenagers in trouble, Euphoria. Funny thing is Levinson saw the parody. Afterwards, he reached out to have her star in Euphoria’s second season where she played Faye, a lollipop-wielding bombshell whose charming observations — whenever she snaps out of a hazy, dissociated state — gave viewers, and her drug dealer boyfriend, a comedic sigh of relief. Some situations on TV are so crazy these days, you know?

Interview by Johnny Belknap
Photos by Anna Bloda

Cherry’s brightness comes through as a total constellation. She writes poetry and maintains close connections with her muses, makes collages from old fashioned women’s magazines, and dishes on the adult film industry’s secrets to having voluminous sex on podcasts with mental health advocate Eileen Kelly and writer/model Emily Ratajkowski. I can’t wait for what Hollywood collabs she has next. Cherry is one of the few post-It Girl actresses that has sincere cinema afterglow. And, she makes you feel like you're in the presence of supreme coolness.

Chloe Cherry— I can't talk about Euphoria or any current or past Hollywood projects that I've done. I stand in solidarity with my union and what they are fighting for.

Johnny Belknap— That’s right, okay. Weird times.

It’s really weird. We could talk now or just have this conversation again when the strike is over.

Cool. Let’s chat now.

Yeah, that would be great.

You’re been in the Hollywood film industry now after some years in the adult film industry. Your shift from the former to the latter began right before the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. What has that been like?

It’s really weird timing for me. I got into the industry and there's suddenly a strike. It's really weird. But, the writers and actors have to stand in solidarity during this important time. There's so many issues that my peers have finally vocalized for and mobilized around.

For sure. I’m happy to hear that people are paying attention. Writers are under-compensated and under-resourced. I like when actor and national president of SAG-AFTRA, Fran Drescher, asked what everyone was doing taking advantage of writers all the while doing what, “moving around furniture on the Titanic?” We hit the iceberg; the furniture sinks along with the rest of the stuff hanging onto an old system. Those who are looking out for one another are building something new and that’s exciting; I’m hopeful about where things could go next. Do you do any writing yourself?

People tell me to write a book so I’ve thought about writing one. I haven't tried writing scripts but I would try that one day, too. The only writing that I've really done is sketches. I write those for my Instagram and stuff.

Would your book be a novel or a memoir?

I want to write a memoir.

You totally should.

It would be cool just because there's a lot to talk about. My career starts off in the adult film industry. I was in it for like six years and I really enjoyed it. I'm not in it anymore. If I wrote a book I want to explain to people how the adult film industry works.

Watching adults on film do the deed is something many of us do all the time. Like, we watch it at least several times a week, if not every other day, or more. I’d love to learn more about it.

Totally.

There doesn’t seem to be too much conversation about the adult film industry beyond those working in it or the text I see on my laptop screen: Cum Inside, Domination, Big Cock, Natural, Cucked. People love to categorize and fantasize. But, there’s got to be so much more stuff to talk about. In another interview you’ve done, you shared about the industry’s #METOO movement and how that’s provided a real sense of accountability in the industry.

The me too movement in porn was huge. We had our own me too movement in about 2020 where every girl in porn shared on twitter their personal stories about anything non consensual that happened to them. It was a lot like the Hollywood me too movement. Directors that abused their power, co stars that were too rough.

Was working in the adult film industry your first job?

I briefly worked in restaurants before working in the adult film industry. Restaurant and food service work is really, really hard. It’s very physically demanding and I was so bad at it.

Right? Restaurant work is super demanding. It’s exhausting managing so many different appetites. So, I guess, what did you like about working in the adult film industry?

I really liked the amount of freedom that it brought me. One thing was the schedule and freedom. I was able to work a couple days a month and had so much free time for myself and time to see others.

That rocks.

Another thing that I liked was the different types of people I met. Just like, I don't know, it was cool to connect with people. I got to learn about my sexuality and my scene partners got to learn about their sexuality. We got to learn about each other’s sexuality. That kind of openness is like not shared so often beyond romantic or strictly sexual partners. I mean, for me, personally I enjoyed confirming that I was bisexual by shooting lesbian scenes. I figured out I liked a lot of different stuff. But mostly the biggest one was that I’m bisexual.

What was memorable was how passionate people were. The performers especially took pride in their work and worked very hard. Just like any part of the entertainment industry people would have crazy workout regimes and diets. Performers would practice what they wanted to do on camera. They invested in their wardrobe. Performers had good relationships with directors which got them more work (I mean friendships not sexual). And the directors put in long hours and lots of effort. A lot of performers were on call at all times meaning their agent could call them any day and they would go do a scene. I did that a lot. Porn taught me how to be a hard worker.

A lot of performers were on call at all times meaning their agent could call them any day and they would go do a scene. I did that a lot. Porn taught me how to be a hard worker.

That sounds special and a lot less stressful than keeping up appearances in the way you have to do while working in a restaurant. It’s physically exhausting to keep a smile on for all the eaters. It’s like restaurant workers are the ultimate vibe curators. Let’s back up some. What was growing up like? Were you close with your family?

My mother always said I had a talent to wear what’s going to be in style before it is. And in Pennsylvania, where I grew up, people didn’t know trends. Not like they do in New York and London. I’ve been parting my hair in the middle since middle school. People made fun of me for it back then but now it’s totally in.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was very religious and traditional. People also said the strangest things. My favorite was once in school when a teacher was asking us students to name every continent and one boy said, “Texas.” He actually thought it was a continent. Another time a teacher asked us to share about our families and a boy told a story of his lineage and the teacher asked “what side of the family is that from?” And he answered “the left side of the family.”

No way. I totally recognize that kind of mixed up language-speak. I went to middle school and high school near Lancaster and I recently spent some time out there. It’s quite a provincial place and I think those of us that leave it still have a close relationship to its funny language-speak. M. Night Shyamalan, Taylor Swift, Jonathan Groff, Pink.

I really didn't love it but I've grown to appreciate it. What were you doing there?

Hanging out with my sister. Jumping into therapy. Writing some fiction. I’d wake up every morning to a hot pot of Wawa coffee and watch the horse and buggy of Amish and Mennonite children roll down the street. You always know they're coming because you hear the horse’s trot: clip-clop, clip-clop.

And there’s horseshit, like, everywhere. What were you writing?

I’m trying to tell a story where a bunch of characters take Viagra all the time. It’s funny that it’s a drug that redirects blood flow. There’s something sort of vampiric about it. At one point in the story, a character's vision goes totally blue, it’s called cyanopsia. It’s a bewildering side effect of Viagra.

Sounds so fun.

I had this realization a few years ago that so many people take it. Someone’s dad, their daddy, or a trans dude; a John or his hustler; a doll or a porn star. I know some cis girls that take it with their boyfriends, too. They have weekend-long bedroom adventures.

I was gonna say Viagra is really popular in the adult film industry.

Yeah. What is your experience with it?

I remember guys that were new to the industry would show up on set and they would take it. They would be so nervous that it still wouldn't work and their face would get really, really red. They would be really sweaty, too.

Did you ever get nervous while on set?

I wouldn’t really ever get nervous. I guess, maybe, I would get nervous with higher-end porn. I would get kind of nervous that I wasn’t gonna perform well enough for the bigger scenes for the more popular companies. I was nervous but I was also, like, excited.

Were there co-workers were you really excited to work with?

My favorite male actor was probably Small Hands and my favorite female actor was probably Lola Faye.

Small Hands is pretty sexy. Guys covered head-to-toe in tattoos get it: Boomer Banks, Big Harry, Jack Delany. There’s something about being so visually marked up that translates to me as fleshy vulnerability. I don’t know. Do you miss porn at all?

I guess so. What I miss about the adult film industry is that it was always going on. You didn’t have to wait so long between work. Like, that industry is always happening. It’s not like filming a movie or walking Fashion Week. Currently, I have a lot of free time between things.

What have you been doing with your free time?

I’m reading Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris. David Sedaris is my favorite author. I’ve been making art. I've been hanging out with friends and hiking. I just got a dog so I’ve been taking care of him.

What kind of dog?

I got a Dalmatian.

What's his name? I imagine him being a nice companion when out picketing.

His name is Domino. He is really nice.

Domino: tall and thin with beautiful ink spots. Tell me a little about art-making.

I make collages. There’s this discontinued magazine called Penthouse Forum Magazine from the 2000s, and it has really raunchy stuff in it. My dream is to have people send me their songs while they're in the studio making albums. Then, I can make a collage based on the songs they send.

Totally. Would Shygirl or 100 gecs or wait even like Charli XCX send you stuff? You could do one of their next album covers or something.

Yeah, that'd be so fun.

What do you have coming up?

Mostly working a lot. I have a few indie movies that I am working on so there’s a lot of shooting in the coming months.

Do you have to travel for the shoots?

Yeah. We’re shooting in London, New Mexico, Rome, and Greece. I really hope things get worked out and the writers get paid fairly soon. Also, I hope that actors get paid fairly, too. Actors don’t get paid what they used to get paid. Many actors can’t get by on just acting anymore. It’s pretty crazy.

How has your summer been?

It’s been fine. I guess I want to talk a little about Angus. I really miss him. He is missed by so many people. It’s really sad.

I’m sorry. It must have been quite a shock. You guys were fairly close?

It was really shocking. When I first heard about it I thought it was fake news. I was like this is fake news, like, there’s no way that can happen. It has been really hard. He was one of my closest coworkers and confidantes during that time. It's like a special thing that happens, you know, when you get to know someone like that.

The experience of loss or grief distorts stuff like so much. Things slip. Interactions have a sudden scripted quality to them. People you know get quiet and quiet people speak at you, for you. Loss or grief doubles up inside you in this way. After experiencing bouts of loss or grief, I’ve reminded myself to slow time down a little and be present, especially with friends. Take a second cigarette. Give a sixty second hug. Talk in bed with someone you love for three hours straight. Eat all day, dance all night. It’s good to make people feel good. People love to feel good.

Yeah, it's really important. I've been trying to be better about keeping closeness and being in contact with people. It’s so easy to forget.

What’s now, what’s next?

Right now it’s three indie movies. But, we’re waiting.

If you commit to the bit, babe, you’ve got it. Do you have any dream roles? Or, is there anyone you’d want to play in a biopic?

I would love to play Dolly Parton.

Absolutely.

Playing her would be a dream. She’s like nobody else. She’s so cool. I know about her lore, you know? It’s interesting.

I see. What kind of music are you listening to right now?

I'm listening to Tommy Genesis. I’m listening to Frank Ocean and Baby Keem. I’m listening to Padam Padam by Kylie Minogue. Oh, and 100 gecs.

They’re so good. What about you? Would you ever do an EP or album? That process of collaborative art making seems up your alley.

I’m actually working on a song with this NYC artist Blaketheman1000. He’s really talented and he thinks I should do an EP or album. But, I’m not sure yet if I will. I think I’m decent at writing lyrics and poems but not very musically skilled in a technical way.

Tell me about the poems.

I used to write poetry back in high school. I wrote this one:

This is an apology to us both
For how much I loathe you and lost your trust You told me "use this as a chance for growth" Now it's all interplanetary dust
I told you I was drowning in darkness

Just looking at you felt sensational
Until you became nothing but harshness
You were never even motivational

I can't help myself from adoring you

Your kisses used to feel like warm honey

You once turned so cold out of the blue

Then you gave me up like ransom money With a kind heart and soft facial features

You turned into the cruelest creature

That was after my boyfriend and I broke up. He went away to college and of course it was too hard to keep dating at that point.

There’s always that one relationship that ends because of “bad timing.” Which, in a way, is its own self-fulfilling prophecy. Timing isn’t something that can be so easily pinned down with dualistic thinking. I.e. good timing, bad timing, yada yada. You can’t really plan ahead for things like girlfriends, boyfriends, and other types of best friends.

That poem really summed up my feelings on it. Then I fell in love again and wrote this for someone while I was with them;

To the wonderful love of my life
Your face and body is prepossessing

Someday I'll be your adoring wife

Our situation may seem depressing

But soon we will have a glorious life

With my darling zest for adventure

And your brilliant mind and soul

We will spend our lives together

Our love becoming celestial
I know your joy feels obliterated

Soon it will not feel that same way

As if sadness was inoculated

And I'll be there with a floral bouquet

Because these days will happen to you

But I will always help you pull through

Later in life I turned my poetry into songs. I have music on SoundCloud because I mostly make it just for myself to hear. My favorite song of mine on SoundCloud is my song “come through.” It’s about me and also about my best friend and my ex-boyfriend who has become my emotional support ex-boyfriend; he has never left my life since we met at 19. I met him in LA when I was 18. Both him and another ex told me to go to Miami and follow my dreams. They both played huge roles in helping me become more confident. Now we’re 26.

It’s grounding to have someone who knows you from one chapter of your life and then they pop up or stay with you into another chapter. It doesn’t always work out that way. I have someone like that who recently came back into my life. He was my first boyfriend and he was able to shine some lights on pretty dark things around me. It was nice to be reminded of that luminosity, to be seen through. I sometimes wish we had some more words that describe the different ways of relating or kinds of relationships we have with certain people. I mean “Ex” can feel too big and broad. “Boyfriend” can feel constraining. “Lover” is too plastic, slippery. I want more language-speak. Like, more words for specific kinds of connections makes so much sense.

I say in that song “if you wanna come back / I would tell you come through / it’s an ordinary task / like fixing up some food,” which isn’t necessarily true it just… sounds good.

Well, yes. Playing the “what if...” game always makes for good storytelling. Let’s plan to chat again soon.

Right now I'm filming a movie that has its SAG Interim Agreement, so the weekend is best!

Culture

Mowalola x Miss Sixty Launch with H. Lorenzo

I swing my legs over the ropes that guard the VIP entrance. Always over (I’m 5’10), never under. I’m late to the H. Lorenzo x Mowalola event, and the line is wrapped around the block. I don’t want to be an asshole, but I hate waiting in lines; it just ruins everything.

“Hey, my friend is DJing right now. My name should be down,” I say.

The youngish security guard looks me up and down. I have made an adventurous choice for this type of crowd. Neon pink hoodie, bright orange vest, my Raimundo jeans, and Jeremy Scott animal print sneakers. I let him take me in and look over his shoulder. Hmmm… I will be swathed in darkness when he lets me in. Dark night, dark clothes, dark makeup, furs, hoods, leather accessories, and sunglasses. I don’t recognize anyone, but it’s hard to tell who anyone is because I can’t see after 8 pm without my glasses. Night blindness. I can still catch a vibe though.

“She’s in the bathroom,” Mr. Guard says, interrupting my squinting.

“Who?,” I ask.

“The woman in charge of the list.”

That’s a drag. I want to dance. Lately, I am going out in the name of music.

“So…can I go in?” I ask.

“Just wait for her to get back.”

That sounded fine. I wait. The outdoor smoking area is packed. I imagine the inside to be a mirror of this, hopefully with people dancing instead of blowing smoke in each other’s eyes.

“You got instagram?” The guard asks me after about ten minutes of flirting.

“Can I go in?” I said.

He laughs. He lets me in the event without a wristband.

Inside, I understand why the other guard was gone for so long. I made a mental note to not drink too much liquid, the bathroom line is almost as long as the line outside. The party is popping, far from a flop.

I push through the crowd solo, following the speakers to the DJ booth. The immersive visuals provided me with enough light to make out Mowalola in a gold bikini and her low rise denim. My pulse races like the horse printed on the front of her coochie. That’s the point of the collection, obviously.

My hips swing around before I head towards the open bar. I smile to myself, noting that it’s a mezcal forward menu. I see a drink that disgusts me so I order it without hesitation. It’s a mezcal coffee concoction. My heart ’s ran through already, why not go all in? I head back to dance when I hear Shigecki’s set start. I’m jumping around, sweating, and when I pause for a beat I let out a yelp. There are strippers working poles opposite and behind the DJ booth. Good. Events should be sexy.

I end the night smoking my friend’s Korean strawberry cigarettes taking in the air of cool- when a man comes up to me wild-eyed exclaiming that we look just like one another. I look at him- no, not at all. I turn slowly, remembering what I should be doing: listening to DJ G2G’s set. Back inside, she is playing reggaeton type beats with lasers beaming out of her headphones (I want these). A rave in it of herself.

Too bad all the events end at 2 am in LA.

Culture

Vans Pipe Masters 2024

On the first night, Steve Van Doren and the Vans team hosted the heat draw for the competitors at a casual backyard barbecue. The son of Vans’ co-founder Paul Van Doren, Steve has worked in the family business for decades, and is now known as the Ambassador of Fun. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a cowboy hat made out of old shoes, he was definitely dressed for the part. The surfers, along with family and friends gathered in a relaxed setting as 40 men’s and 20 women’s names were drawn from a shoebox. The competition would run in 3 rounds, the top 4 men and 4 women with the highest scores moving onto the finals. When asked about their strategies, most gave answers along the lines of “get waves.” Refreshingly simple.

After waiting a few days for favorable conditions, the first day of competition kicked off with Women’s Round 1. It was finally time to see Pipeline in action. Banzai Pipeline is known as one of the most dangerous places to surf due to the powerful waves breaking over shallow and sharp reefs. With the potential to crash into the rocky edges or have leashes caught in caves, it takes a ton of skill–-and even more courage–to surf here. No stranger to these risks, the first heat included favorites Caity Simmers and “Queen of Pipeline” Moana Jones Wong, who showed off exactly why they’d been successful here in the past. Midway through the heats, Mother Nature decided to throw in another element as a light drizzle turned into a proper downpour. Rain or shine, the athletes went out unfazed, focused on getting their first points on the board.

After another short day’s break, the competition continued with the women’s second round and the men’s first. The beach was filled with spectators, locals and tourists alike, as the competition was free for all to attend. While fans rooted equally for the women and men, the most popular were the local Hawaiian athletes, which made up about half the competition. The women started off the day again, hyping up the crowd with incredible rides. One ride by Bettylou Sakura Johnson earned the first Bag of Cash of the day– a cash prize (of undisclosed amount) awarded in a brown paper bag to any surfer that pulls off a wow moment, excites the crowd, and pulls off something spectacular regardless of what the conditions might look like.

Winds picked up as the men’s competition began and two strategies quickly emerged: an aggressive approach, targeting any decent waves to build small scores; and a patient approach, waiting for the perfect wave to chase a high single score. Even the waves that were unrideable were a spectacle in itself. The sheer size, illustrated by the length of surfboards riding up and over, and the following crash of white water spray was hypnotizing. Then imagining having to experience it out on the water, duck diving under or being lifted over, brought a renewed respect for the surfers.

After watching these early rounds, it was time for office to head back to the cold. With the competition officially spanning from December 8-20, it seemed the forecast was gearing up for some massive waves— and it didn’t disappoint. Following from afar through Vans’ Instagram and live updates, we saw the full extent of what it means to surf at Pipeline. After a series of electrifying and daring surfs, the 2024 winners were crowned: Erin Brooks and Nathan Florence.

The thrill of watching top athletes compete at the highest level of their sport, even remotely, never fails to inspire. Few sports surrender so completely to the forces of nature as surfing does. And at its core, surfing is all about having a deep respect for the ocean—its unpredictable whims, its immense power, and its ever-changing moods.

Culture

The Cost of Queendom

December 17, 2024

One summer afternoon in New York, a few days after their New York premiere of the acclaimed documentary Queendom, office met up with documentary filmmaker Agniia Galdanova and producer Igor Myakotin at a tattoo parlor on the west side of Manhattan. While Agniia received a tattoo of the portmanteau “DOCU CUNT” across her fists, she — unfazed by the needle on her knuckles — answered our questions alongside Igor about the making of the stirring story that has traveled around the world.

One of the opening scenes of Queendom depicts a ritual many of us are all too familiar with in the 21st century. Jenna Marvin, the documentary film’s central subject, takes her friend along with her to take photos for Instagram. When she finds a suitable backdrop, she poses, poses, poses, and then reviews the photos. Dissatisfied, she gives her notes, and then returns to pose, pose, pose again.

By Brook Aster
Photos by Liv Solomon

The ritual may be familiar, but nothing else about the scene — from its setting to its stakes — is ordinary. The backdrop behind Jenna is a sweeping expanse of ice and snow in a small Russian port town called Magadan. Jenna is dressed in drag, but not drag of the Rupaul’s Drag Race variety; her drag has been referred to as “creature drag.” Her signature white face paint, platform heels and surrealist costumes, with their exaggerated sculptural proportions and use of duct tape and repurposed items, catches the ire of her neighbors and the love of online admirers alike. Jenna eventually accrued a following on social media for her public and technically illegal drag performances, which often involved little more than her walking or being in public spaces but nevertheless were often met with abuse and threats of imprisonment.

But when Agniia first encountered Jenna, she hadn’t yet reached the level of virality that would eventually come in the years to follow. The filmmaker was researching different drag performers in Russia for her sophomore project, which she thought would be a docuseries, when she heard from a friend about a young drag queen from Magadan. “I was like, this is impossible. I have to meet this person,” Agniia remembers. “And I could not actually go meet her because I was in Moscow and she was in Saint Petersburg, so I sent a friend of mine with whom I’d been studying with in film school, and she went and filmed the sample.” The simple video, showing Jenna and her friend getting dressed up for a party, struck something in Agniia. The drag was an earlier, more prototypical version of the style Jenna is now known for; less duct tape and ornamentation, but still that signature striking makeup. “Something sparked. I knew I just had to stick to this feeling,” Agniia says. She decided to turn the docuseries into a documentary solely focused on Jenna.

Around that time, the entire world came to a grinding halt: the onset of COVID-19 pandemic had just led to lockdowns around the globe. With only a couple thousand followers on social media at that point in time, Jenna had tried to branch out and connect with other drag artists in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but faced rejection; her drag was extremely unconventional, and not even other drag artists quite understood it. “I think we found each other at the right moment, because nobody knew what to do, how to cope with all this,” Agniia says. “Jenna was saying that she was lost, and she also didn't know how to develop her art next.”

Unlike some of the other artists Agniia had initially researched, Jenna didn’t need much convincing to allow the camera into her life. “[Especially] after COVID came, there wasn't really [any] drag in my life,” Jenna recounts when I speak to her later over Zoom. “I realized that what drag is for me is not just a costume, a dress, something that you leave, that you take off and then in the dead of the night you put back on. Later, I understood that this is who I am, that I am art and I am drag, and that this is way bigger and more important than just clothing or costume.”

[LEFT TO RIGHT: Agniia Galdanova, Jenna Marvin, Igor Myakotin]

When it came time to move into production stages, Agniia sent a clip to Igor, who had been referred to her by a past colleague. When Igor saw the footage, he was similarly struck by Jenna — and even more struck to find out she shared his small hometown of Magadan. “It was just so fateful to know that I also come from this town, and I've never seen it through this cinematic lens, through the vision that Agniia has,” he says. “I was mesmerized by the footage, mesmerized by Jenna. I thought to myself, I have to do everything I can [for us] to work together, whatever the collaboration is gonna be.”

The two followed Jenna for over three years; Agniia first relocated to St. Petersburg, where Jenna had taken up residence after leaving her grandparents’ home in Magadan, and later Jenna moved in with Agniia in her home in Moscow. All the while, Igor and his team worked remotely from the United States to meet Agniia’s production needs. Inevitably, with all their time spent together, Agniia and Jenna became close.

“There is an unspoken rule in documentary filmmaking that you have to keep this line, and you can’t overcome certain boundaries,” Agniia explains. “In my first film, it was not an easy subject [to do this with] as well. I was following a family for seven months, and [we became] close, but I always was trying to keep my distance, and was constantly thinking about it. How much should I say? How much should I give?” But as she got to know Jenna, it became clear that this time, that distance wouldn’t be possible. “With Jenna almost from the very beginning, I was like, fuck it. That’s not going to work with this one. I'm going to break this rule 100%. I never regretted it, because that's actually what built up the trust that is there.”

As Jenna's public performances continued and began to garner more public attention, her online audience multiplied. Among her virtual admirers was French fashion maven Michèle Lamy, who would eventually sign onto Queendom as an executive producer. Lamy's discovery of Jenna led to an invitation to walk in the Rick Owens show in Paris — her first time modeling, and her first time leaving Russia in her life. Of course, Agniia and her camera followed. But most of their excursions were not so glamorous; many of Jenna's performances shown in the documentary were undertaken at a real risk to her physical safety, and by extension, to the safety of Agniia. But neither of them were daunted.

I remember who I am. And this is what carries me through this life.

After all, Jenna was used to both taking risks and documenting them well before she was the subject of a film; she and her friends long filmed the often impassioned, sometimes violent reactions of strangers and policemen to their mere existence in public spaces in drag. And after a protest performance in which she wrapped herself in the Russian flag, Jenna was kicked out of beauty school, her last attempt at a practical route before pursuing her drag as a full time venture.

The only time Agniia tried to dissuade her was on Paratrooper’s Day, a Russian military holiday often characterized by the drunk soldiers roaming the streets. The risk for violence was especially high. “On Paratroopers Day, people say you can't come out in skinny jeans or with nail polish,” Jenna describes. “[I think] you should do the opposite. You should really make a statement and come out wearing what you want to wear. I think that clothes, what we wear, is really at some point beyond our psyche, our mind, our understanding. It is as if it's a certain kind of spice that is enticing you and you follow the scent of that spice and you don't see anything else except that scent and you follow it. That's how I see it.”

“I was like, ‘girl, maybe we should not do that,’” Agniia says. “Igor was stressing out and she told us, ‘well, you don't need to follow me. I'm gonna go and do it. I don't care if you're coming or not.’” In the end, Jenna ventured out for her performance anyway, protesting the then-recent invasion of Ukraine. Agniia followed. Not shown in the film is that the two were arrested, and managed to talk the police out of their arrest.

Not too long after, she would have to leave Russia again, this time moving for Paris for good; the film follows her struggles to get a visa in time to leave the country after the onset of the war. “It's already been three years that I've been in France, and it is important for me to understand and remember who I am, and to remember that pain, those moments when we were back in Russia doing drag, fighting with the police and law enforcement,” Jenna says. “It is important that this resistance continues and that those voices are not being silenced. Yes, here there’s much more freedom, there are pride parades and queer people can get married, but this is an illusion because there are also places where you cannot get married and you cannot enjoy the same freedoms. I cling to who I am, who I was from the very beginning. I remember who I am. And this is what carries me through this life.”

“Meeting Jenna gave me hope for the future of the country, because governments come and go, people in power come and go, but the generations change at the same time,” Igor says. “So it warms my heart to see that someone like her came from somewhere like that. If I saw her back then at a similar age, it would be even more personal. I think I would’ve accepted myself as gay quicker, and I wouldn't be nervous or closed and not open to the world or myself… Working with this project also meant that we were amplifying the voices of many, many people who couldn't speak like Jenna could.”

For Agniia, the honor of telling Jenna's story is only paralleled by the honor of having her in her life. “We found each other,” Agniia says. “And what I learned from Jenna is so precious; about life, about art, about surviving. And I appreciate it a lot. This film grew so much larger than just a documentary, because I have a family now, a working family.”

Queendom is now available to stream on Apple TV.