BOYLESQUE

Although he knows he is not getting any younger, he is still looking for the love of his life – queer performer Lulla La Polaca is past eighty, but still eager to dance, have fun, love. However, his young soul has to compete with his aging body. What’s it like – to crave something which you can no longer keep up with? To yearn for love, having so little time to find the one? Sticking out like a sore humb among the elderly, he comes to life when he is among the young who, unfortunately, tend to leave him behind. Lulla doesn’t belong anywhere. Suspended between the past and the future, he reminisces of his former relationship and hopes to start a new one, seeking protection from loneliness in a fantasy world. BOYLESQUE’s protagonist doesn’t fit any label or generation: he frequents funeral homes and pride parades alike, balls for senior citizens and gay clubs. The oldest Polish drag queen is gracefully navigating a youth-adoring world and BOYLESQUE captures the tender moments with attention and affection.

  • Genre: Documentary
  • Country: Czech Republic, Poland
  • Running time: 71
  • Year: 2022
  • Color: colour

Director: Bogna Kowalczyk

Script: Bogna Kowalczyk

DOP: Miłosz Kasiura

Editing: Kacper Plawgo, Krzysztof Komander, Ola Gowin

Production company: HAKA FILMS, BIONAUT, HBO, Mazowiecki Instytut Kultury

Trailer

About the director:

Bogna Kowalczyk

Bogna Kowalczyk

Director, animator, alum of the world-famous Lodz Film School (Direction of Animation) and The Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology (New Media Arts). Bogna currently works as creative art director, animator and director at Warsaw Production. Her work often combines traditional techniques with a modern approach. Since 2009, she has supported dozens of short films and music videos as animator, CGI expert, script doctor and assistant director. She has made projects for Universal, Sony, Netflix and other brands.

One of her most complex projects is the short animation KLIMAT I WANILIA, which presents the BDSM culture in Warsaw, Poland. Her most experimental work is FIFTH ELEMENT, which was entirely animated in dyed ice. She has also made videos for a contemporary staging of #Hansel#and#Gretel, as well as conceptual concert visuals for the popular jazz band Wojciech Mazolewski Quintet. BOYLESQUE is her full-length feature directorial debut.

At festivals:

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2022, Canada, 2022 (Emerging International Filmmaker Award)

62nd Krakow Film Festival, Poland, 2022 (Silver Hobby-Horse, Audience Award)

Bergen International Film Festival, Norway, 2022 (Beste LHBTI-film)

DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Finland, 2023 (screening)

Junction North Documentary Festival 2023, Canada, 2023 (screening)

Vilnius International Film Festival Kino Pavasaris, 2023, Lithuania, 2023 (screening)

IceDocs - Iceland Documentary Film Festival 2023, Iceland, 2023 (screening)

Centre Film Festival 2023, USA, 2023 (screening)

Screening at Cologne Pride in Filmhaus 2024, Germany, 2024 (screening)