2019 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival: ‘The Queens’
Using the framework of the 38-year-old Miss Continental Pageant as its backdrop, The Queens explores the complex and fascinating transgender subculture of competitive female impersonation entertainers and their driven and dedicated quest for the crown. The documentary follows several contestants as they plan, prepare, and plot their paths to victory while meeting former titleholders and repeat competitors who have yet to claim the title.
The Queens moves beyond the stage lights to examine the transgender experience, cosmetic surgery decisions, and the choice some contestants make to delay sex reassignment surgery to stay eligible. The film also profiles female impersonators who live as men outside performance, and it traces romantic lives marked by family rejection alongside gradual shifts in social acceptance of transgender and gay individuals. Never shying away from the sadder stories associated with the pageant, The Queens also focuses on mob and police payoffs, drugs, prostitution, the AIDS crisis, crime, tragic accidents, and even murder. It examines why the crown carries such weight as a potential route to greater fame and fortune, and how the competition occasionally turns cutthroat with acts of sabotage.
You will be awestruck by the time and money spent on makeup, costumes, wigs, backup dancers, and more to win this crown. The contestants shimmer and seduce, titillate and twirl. The glitz, glamor, talent, and beauty on display here rival—no—they put the Miss America and Miss USA pageants to shame. Year after year, decade after decade, the show simply must go on. We were delighted to sit down with the director, writer and producer of The Queens, Mark Saxenmeyer, to chat about the movie and its Melbourne premiere.
Miss Continental Pageant Legacy and Recent Winners
The pageant has now passed its forty-fifth anniversary and continues to draw competitors each Labor Day weekend in Chicago. After a 2020 cancellation due to the pandemic, the event resumed with Britney Taylor taking the 2021 title, followed by Juliana Rivera in 2022, Sunny Dee-Lite in 2023, Zhané Dawlingz in 2024, Raquell Lord in 2025, and Gadfrie Arbulu in 2026. A 2019 rule change now permits full transition while maintaining eligibility, a shift that reflects evolving standards within the competition itself.
The Baton Show Lounge Today
The Baton Show Lounge remains a Chicago fixture with regular Friday and Saturday performances. In spring 2025 the venue was sold to new ownership that plans to open the Chicago Eagle leather bar on the premises while keeping drag shows running under continued management. A recent temporary closure for flooding repairs highlights the ongoing work required to maintain the historic space that first opened in 1969.
Film Distribution and Streaming Availability
The Queens reached wider audiences after its 2020 release through The Reporters Inc. Viewers can now find the documentary on Tubi with free ad-supported streaming, on OUTtv via Apple TV, on Vimeo On Demand, and on Amazon Prime Video. The completed film preserves the original interview material and festival context while extending its reach beyond the 2019 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival screenings.
Participant Updates: Naysha Lopez and Mimi Marks
Naysha Lopez, featured in the documentary as a non-transgender competitor who discusses community dynamics, went on to compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race season eight and later returned for All Stars eight. Mimi Marks, crowned Miss Continental in 1993 and a longtime Baton performer, continues to receive recognition within the pageant community for her sustained presence and performances.
Director Mark Saxenmeyer began the project after visiting The Baton Show Lounge in 1994 and later producing a sizzle reel that drew network interest but no commissions. He eventually turned the focus to the Miss Continental competition after filming both the Plus division and the main event, realizing the depth of preparation and personal stakes involved. The film incorporates more than eighty hours of archive footage dating back to 1985, allowing viewers to see how the pageant has evolved while retaining its core emphasis on ambition and resilience.
Workshop screenings in 2017 prompted adjustments to the final cut, yet the documentary ultimately celebrates the community on its own terms rather than critiquing its traditions. The darker chapters of the pageant’s history remain part of the narrative, including the losses referenced by Mimi Marks when she notes how many people in the community have died or been killed. Connections to RuPaul’s Drag Race appear through cameo appearances by former Miss Continental competitors who later gained national attention on the series.
The Reporters Inc. continues its documentary work with a project on wrongful convictions now hosted at innocentconvicts.org. The Queens itself stands as a record of the 2011 through 2017 production period, now available for new audiences to discover the determination, glamour, and personal histories that define the Miss Continental world.
