If you just can’t get enough drag on television or at the bars in Wilton Manors and Miami Beach, then you can head to Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale for gender-bending antics on the big screen.
The theater, one of the year-round marquee venues of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, will launch “Drag Out the Movies,” a monthly series with “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” on March 8.
The party, hosted by Miami-based drag entertainer Blamie Forret, will begin with happy hour specials in the courtyard at 6 p.m., followed by live comedy and the screening at 8 p.m. But don’t leave early, because Forret will offer hilarious recaps after the credits roll.
“I reached out to [Savor Cinema], a month or two ago and pitched that idea to them for a drag movie night,” Forret said. “I’m from New York City and fell in love with ‘Hedda Presents the Classics’ with Hedda Lettuce. She was responsible for introducing me to a lot of classic movies and helping me fall in love with them. I think of ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane’ — how could I have never seen this? I’m a Millennial and there are other Millennials who will love this shit.”
Forret suggested “Priscilla” to kick off the series because the largely gay enclave of Wilton Manors is nearby with a large potential audience. The film was also important in her personal decision to explore drag.
She recalled, “I have a special place in my heart for that movie. When I was coming out for the second time — it’s a long story — I had an ex-boyfriend who lived in London and he would come to see me in New York City. He brought me to my first drag show, this Australian trio, and I was enamored with them, fascinated with them. He then bought me a DVD of ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,’ and it was my first introduction to drag.”
In the phone interview, Forret even suggested she might show up in the film’s iconic flip-flop dress and encouraged audience members to do the same: “Why not? If you want to dress up, go for it!”
Forret is still finalizing the list of upcoming films — she’s a busy girl, hosting Blamie’s Boozie Bingo at Hotel Gaythering, the new Saturday drag brunch at the Gramercy in Coral Gables and an upcoming weekly trivia-themed happy hour at Tobacco Road in Miami’s Brickell district. She also has a YouTube channel in the works, “Dinner with my Ex,” that explores “all the bitterness of a failed eight-year relationship with a dash of salt.”
The cinephile hopes the movie series will help movie theaters bounce back after being shuttered by the pandemic.
“Movies are really important to me,” she said. “There are so many great movies out there and we’ve got to show them.”
Blamie Forret hosts “Drag Out the Movies” on the second Tuesday of the month at Savor Cinema, 503 S.E. 6th St. in Fort Lauderdale. The first film will be “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” on Tuesday, March 8. Tickets are $10 ($8 for FLIFF members) at FLIFF.com.
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