Jules’ life and career as a drag queen is destroyed by a homophobic attack. But when he re-encounters his attacker, the deeply-closeted Preston, in a gay sauna, he is presented with a chance to exact revenge. Unrecognisable out of his wig and make-up, Jules infiltrates Preston’s life and, in doing so, discovers power in a different kind of drag...

Directed by: Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping

Written by: Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping

Produced by: Myles Payne, Sam Ritzenberg

Cinematography: James Rhodes

Editing: Selina Macarthur

Production Design: Christopher Melgram

Costume Design: Buki Ebiesuwa

Make-Up: Marie Deehan

Sound: John Campbell

Original Score: Adam Janota Bzowski

Visual Effects: David Horsburgh

Casting Director: Julie Harkin, Nathan Toth

Cast: George McKay, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Original Title: FEMME

Film Production Country: United Kingdom

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Statement of the Director/s
The seed of Femme came from our desire to flip the classic hyper-masculinity of the Neo-noir thriller on its head. By putting a queer protagonist at the heart of our revenge story, we aimed to put our own stamp on a genre that we love but from which we have often felt excluded.

However, once we started work on the film, the idea began to evolve into something that felt much bigger in scope. We realised that a queer reframing of such a hetero-centric genre was the perfect way to explore - and explode - conventional ideas of sexuality, masculinity, patriarchy, and identity. Our conversations around these topics brought up a lot for us as gay men about things that terrify us and things that make us rage.

As we dug deeper, we came to the conclusion that the film we wanted to make was, at its core, about drag. And not only the more recognisable feminine drag that Jules dons at the beginning of the story. Almost every character in the film wears a form of drag: a performance of gender that earns them power and status in the world they inhabit. Femme delves into what happens when those masks are challenged.

We hope that in adopting and subverting familiar devices from many films that we love, we have created a space for Femme that is all its own. In a way
the film itself is wearing a form of drag. It’s a dark story, and we decided early on that we weren’t interested in making a moralistic film, where the good guys take the high road and the bad guys always get their comeuppance.

Our interest lies in exploring the reality of the characters and how the world they live in propels them into doing the things that they do. Making Femme was both exhilarating and cathartic for us, and we hope to bring you along on that same journey.

Biography of the Director/s
Sam and Ping co-wrote and co-directed the BIFA-winning, BAFTA nominated short FEMME starring Paapa Essiedu and Harris Dickinson, which premiered in competition at SXSW.

Sam has worked extensively in television, most recently writing the pilot for his own original series with Bad Wolf and HBO Max. Other television work includes INDUSTRY (HBO/Bad Wolf), THIS IS GOING TO HURT (BBC/Sister Pictures) and THE POWER (Amazon/Sister Pictures). His first original series Unmasked sold to Disney.

Ping recently directed a new adaptation of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” at the Hong Kong Arts Festival as well as “Macbeth” at the Bristol Old Vic. He has directed over the last decade at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and Young Vic, and is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards in recognition of his theatre work.

FEMME is their debut feature.

Filmography of the Director/s
2021 - FEMME, Short

Production Company:
Agile Films
Sam Ritzenberg
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +447729909633
Website: https://antoncorp.com/