‘The Heels Have Eyes’ shines a light on Denver’s drag scene
Eight years ago, Keith Garcia didn’t know much about drag. He had only seen a few drag shows here and there, but never put much weight on men blurring gender lines and putting on a damn good show.
That all changed when he wandered into Charlie’s and saw Nina Flowers demand the attention of the entire bar with her extravagant looks and high-energy performances. Although he knew about drag, it was that night that Keith fell in love with the art of drag, and it sent him on a near-decade project following the men bold enough to take on a female persona. Thus, The Heels Have Eyes was born.
“The Heels Have Eyes is a documentary — or dragumentary really — that focuses on the drag community here in Denver,” Keith Garcia says.
Going off of Westword’s Diva Dozen, which Keith started two years ago, he began documenting some of Denver’s most entertaining drag queens capturing every outfit reveal, death drop, and tip that passes between sweaty palms.
The Diva Dozen list, which caused some controversy in the community, was cache of people who he thought represented the past, the present, and the future of Denver drag.
It was not an easy decision to make. With the popularity of drag reaching an all time high, thanks in large part to RuPaul’s Drag Race, Denver is overflowing with a variety of queens.
“But, there are still a lot of people that can’t even wrap their mind around what drag is,” Keith says. “Or, they might know a little bit, but only in the most popular sense. Hopefully, my film will fill in those gaps.”
Using the original Diva Dozen — consisting of Nina Flowers, Felony Misdemeanor, Ginger Douglas, Janessa Befierce, Daniella DeCoteau, Mariah Spanic, Victoria Sexton, Nina Montaldo, Bootzy Edwards Collynz, Khryst’aaal, Yazmeen Staxxx, and Scarlett Red — as a starting point, Keith sat each performer down and picked their minds about drag, documented their dramatic transformations and jaw dropping performances, and took a long hard look at the culture that surrounds drag.
Through the eyes of those 12 exceptional artists, the film explores the history of Denver’s drag community, the variety of drag styles, where drag is heading, and introduces a number of local queens who are fighting to make a name for themselves.
In 2008, Denver’s drag community was small … well smaller. Nina Flowers was hosting ‘Drama Drag’ — which is now Drag Nation, one of the best drag shows in the nation — at Tracks, as well as performing in a regular show at Charlie’s called ‘Vivid’ — who was hosted by Michael Vrooman AKA Harley Quinn.
“I remember very vividly standing in a packed crowd at Charlie’s when Nina Flowers came out: I just stared at her wondering what I was seeing,” Keith recalls. “I was thinking, is this an alien? Is this drag? Is this performance art? So I stuck around and watched the rest of the show — which included Felony Misdemeanor, Ginger Douglas, Nicole Summers, and Nina Montaldo — and I sat back in awe.”
Coming from a film background, Keith knew he needed to document this. Although there was no real focus in the beginning, he knew that it would make a great film.
He wasn’t wrong.
Not long after that show at Charlie’s, Nina Flowers was featured on the first season of Drag Race, and almost immediately fans of the show fell in love with the eccentric, beautiful queen from Puerto Rico. Eight seasons, better production value, and millions of fans across the nation later, Nina Flowers is still one of the most respected, inspirational, and memorable queens from the reality show.
While the show grew in popularity, so did the art of drag. Over the past eight years, drag has continually evolved and attracted so many different types of performers daring enough to give it a try.
One of those performers is Khryst’aaal.
During Pride in 2014, Khryst’aaal saw her first Drag Nation production. She was already a drag performer, but that night sparked a fire in her.
“I never knew Denver was a Mecca for drag performers,”Khryst’aaal says. “The first show I saw at Tracks was such a production. The whole thing kind of reminded me of a Cirque Du Soleil performance, and I knew that’s where everyone wants to be.”
Khryst’aaal worked hard. Her drag persona could be compared to Serena Williams with an athletic build, no padding, and hard-hitting choreography accompanying every performance. Her originality, dedication to the art form, and natural talent secured her a spot in the Diva Dozen, and landed her a spot in the film.
“This film is going to be eye opening,” Khryst’aaal says. “I’ve seen the amount of time Keith has dedicated to this and how much he just loves the art of drag. I just know it’s going to be great.”
Now, as Keith hits the last stretch of piecing the project together, he is doing something that he’s never done: drag.
Even after eight years of immersing himself into the drag community, he has yet to try out the extravagant, detailed art form. On September 30, Keith Garcia is debuting his drag persona and performing at Drag Nation, hosted by the performer who inspired his eight year fascination: Nina Flowers.
“I wanted to do it right. I didn’t want to slap on a wig, walk around in a circle, and say hey give me a tip,” Keith says. “I really want to celebrate the art that they so strongly care about.”
Alongside piecing together an entire persona — and filming the entire process — the filmmaker is working with the Denver Film Society to raise money to complete this very, very long project.
Last year I successfully completed a Kickstarter campaign to get the big important stuff started – intimate out of drag interviews, special one-of-a-kind performances and transformations – but it’s time to start bringing it all together as we complete pivotal interviews, bring on our full-time editor, head in to post and produce a series of faux trailers saluting Hollywood genres which will serve as a creative way to truly bring the large diverse cast of characters in town together.
To finish this filming and pave the road to ready this film for the big screen, we seek an additional $118,000 and we are honored to work with the Denver Film Society in their Fiscal Sponsorship Program to cross that finish line with your – tax deductible! – help.
When the movie is done, it’s going to bring so many eyes to Denver community,” Keith says. “Not just the drag community, but the LGBTQ community as a whole. That’s huge.”
