It's not every day one is granted an audience with The Queen of Ireland and so we were delighted to sit down and talk all things Panti with the film's director Conor Horgan and the man behind the woman, Rory O'Neill. Check it out below.
The Queen of Ireland opens tonight October 21st with a special Premiere screening at 7.30pm at the Light House Cinema in Dublin, followed by a Q&A via satellite hosted by Brendan Courtney with special guests Antony Cotton, Pauline McLynn and Katherine Lynch which will be beamed into cinemas around Ireland. Tickets for this exclusive live event are available to purchase on www.queenofireland.ie. The film then goes on general release on October 23rd.
Read our five star review, here.
Synopsis:
PANDORA ‘PANTI’ BLISS is many things: part glamorous aunt, part Jessica Rabbit, she's a wittily incisive performer with charisma to burn who is regarded as one of the best drag queens in the world. Created by Rory O’Neill, Panti is also an accidental activist and in her own words ‘a court jester, whose role is to say the un- sayable’. Over the last few years Rory has become a figurehead for LGBT rights in Ireland and since the recent scandal around Pantigate, his fight for equality and against homophobia has become recognised across the world.
THE QUEEN OF IRELAND is a documentary film that follows Rory’s journey from the small Mayo town of Ballinrobe to striding the world stage. The film takes us behind the scenes with his alter ego Panti in the year she became the symbol of Ireland’s march towards marriage equality. Directed by Conor Horgan (One Hundred Mornings, Deep End Dance) and produced by Blinder Films (Citadel, One Hundred Mornings) the film builds build up a multi-faceted picture of a complex and compelling character through behind the scenes footage and interviews with friends, peers and protégés, including Bunny, Tonie Walsh, Colm O’Gorman, Shirley Temple Bar, Una Mullally, David Norris, the O’Neill family, the other half of CANDI PANTI, Angelo Pitillo, long time collaborators Niall Sweeney and Philip McMahon.
