Queering the Script

Queering the Script

Directed by Gabrielle Zilkha
/ 2019
85 minutes

Nerd alert! This incisive doc transports audience members into the cosplay-wearing, fanfic-writing underbelly of queer fandoms, specifically exploring the sometimes inspiring but often troubled history of queer female representation on television. Fans, creators, and actors beautifully articulate their frustrations and their ideas for more accurate and more inclusive visibility. Among those interviewed are Ilene Chaiken (“The L Word”), Angelica Ross (“Pose”), Stephanie Beatriz (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), and, of course, Lucy Lawless (“Xena, Warrior Princess”). The Hollywood Reporter writes: “‘Queering the Script’ is helmed by fans of fandom and unapologetically made as a vehicle for those fans to cheer for their favorite queer women TV characters. But the film is also attempting to do a lot more than celebrate. The sheer amount of ground it covers — the history of lesbian television characters and their fans, Fandom 101, takes from Hollywood showrunners like Ilene Chaiken and Gloria Calderón Kellett — at times feels dense and overwhelming. Yet the feature-length doc is as fun as it is informative.”