The 21-year-old non-binary performance artist Gena uses duct tape, trash and make-up to make outrageous creations for her performances and social media accounts. In incredibly high heels, she moves like an alien through the streets and metro stations of Moscow, protesting against the imminent war in Ukraine and violence against the LGBTQI+ community. In a country where being openly different is quickly regarded as clandestine “gay propaganda”, this is life-threatening.

In Queendom, winner of the NEXT:WAVE Award on CPH:Dox, we follow Gena from her hometown of Magadan—a city in the far east of Russia, infamous for its gulag past—to Moscow, and witness the difficulties she faces every day. We see her in drag, or as a student at a beauty academy, and listen in as she calls her grandparents, who raised her. These poignant conversations speak of both incomprehension and unconditional love.

Images from Gena’s dark and evocative performances permeate the story, providing an extra emotional layer. Sometimes they almost literally take your breath away.