Being BeBe

Jun 25, 2021

1h 34m

★ 9.0

Overview

The intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer originally from Cameroon, and the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. With over a decade of unprecedented access, we observe BeBe’s struggles with celebrity, authenticity, success, and failure.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Work and Serve Productions

Being BeBe Trailers

Cast

self

BeBe Zahara Benet

self

RuPaul

self - BeBe's youngest sister

Dimitra Ngwa

self - BeBe's eldest sister

Bernice Ngwa

self - show director, Gay 90's

Nina Diangelo

self - BeBe's brother

Vanjelis Ngwa

self - BeBe's mother

Elizabeth Ngwa

self - BeBe's father

Dr. Collins Ngwa

self - Pageant Legend, Miss Gay US of A

Tommie Ross

One morning, Leonardo Galicia wakes up with a dull pain and an intense fever. After a pandemic experience that made him aware of his mortality, the last thing Leonardo expected was an HIV-reactive result.  The illness caused by the virus takes hold of Leonardo's body and forces him to take an indefinite break while recovering in a hospital. There, he meets a mysterious young man, Augusto. By sharing common thoughts, hopes, and dreams, the two will find refuge in each other's arms.

7.0

The Life and Death of Lily Savage

Mar 29, 2024

Intimate documentary exploring how Paul O'Grady's creation, Lily Savage, took mainstream TV by storm. Unravel the real story of Lily with insights from Paul's daughter and famous pals.

5.0

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back

Nov 10, 2019

Maurice Hines -- actor, director, singer, and choreographer -- navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.

0.0

Legendary

Aug 27, 2020

An inside look into the effort to preserve Philadelphia's ballroom scene, a black LGBTQ safe-space that has endured for 30 years.

0.0

Xondaros - Guarani Resistance

Jun 8, 2023

The 6 Guarani villages of Jaraguá, in São Paulo, fight for land rights, for human rights and for the preservation of nature. They suffer from the proximity to the city, which brings lack of resources, pollution of rivers and springs, racism, police violence, fires, lack of infrastructure and sanitation, among others. Unable to live like their ancestors, their millenary culture is lost as it merges with the urban culture.

1.0

Christer Lindarw — Ett porträtt

Jan 5, 2023

Portrait documentary of the Swedish drag show pioneer Christer Lindarw and his life both on and off the stage.

6.5

P.S. Burn This Letter Please

Apr 15, 2020

A box found in an abandoned storage unit unearths a time capsule of correspondences from a forgotten era: the underground drag scene in 1950s New York City. Firsthand accounts and newly discovered footage help cast a long overdue spotlight on the unsung pioneers of drag.

8.0

Paris Is Burning

Mar 13, 1991

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

10.0

Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn

Mar 17, 2023

An inspiring love story about a self-described “poor, gay, black man from North Philly” on his historic run for the United States Senate. But this race is about more than taking on the political competition. It’s about taking on an entire system.

1.0

Poly-Love

Jan 21, 2016

A documentary that approaches polyamory from the intimate point of view of an Afro-American family who decided to live an authentic life without denying the option of diversity in their love and family.

5.6

Black Is… Black Ain’t

Oct 11, 1995

African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.

0.0

Dragtime

Oct 11, 1997

A film that revels in the sheer delightful fabulousness of drag! A joyful look into the lives of some of the most famous drag queens of today: Varla Jean Merman, Candis Cayne, Lady Bunny and Lypsinka. These frocked out femmes of fashion light up the screen!

6.2

The Queen

Jun 17, 1968

In 1967, New York City is host to the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant. This documentary takes a look behind the scenes, transporting the viewer into rehearsals and dressing rooms as the drag queen subculture prepares for this big national beauty contest. Jack/Sabrina is the mistress of ceremonies, and their protégé, Miss Harlow, is in the competition. But, as the pageant approaches, the glamorous contestants veer from camaraderie to tension.

0.0

Man Made

May 22, 2018

From adoption and homelessness to navigating relationships and overcoming self-harm, the four transmen in MAN MADE all have something else in common: they are all bodybuilders. Through the lens of FTMFitCon, the world’s only FTM bodybuilding competition, we delve into the lives of Dominic, Rese, Mason, and Kennie as they define what it means to be a man while contextualizing that definition through the social, racial, and economic realities of their lives. For the men of MAN MADE, it’s not about winning—it’s about stepping on stage and being seen for everything they are.

0.0

Éramos Livres

May 5, 2024

Five inmates recite poetry while time keeps passing by.