Synopsis
Raquela is a transsexual—or “ladyboy”—from the Philippines who dreams of escaping the streets of Cebu City for a fairy tale life in Paris. In order to make her dreams come true, she turns from prostitution toward the more lucrative business of Internet porn. Her success as a porn star brings new friends, including Valerie, a ladyboy in Iceland, and Michael, the owner of the website Raquela works for. Valerie helps Raquela get as far as Iceland. From there, Michael offers her a rendezvous in Paris. Will Paris be everything she dreamed of? And will Michael turn out to be her Prince Charming?
Alt Film Guide Interview | Olaf de Fleur
The winner of the Teddy Award for best film with a gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered lead/theme, Icelandic filmmaker Olaf de Fleur Johannesson’s The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela chronicles the day-to-day fantasies and struggles of a Filipino male-to-female transsexual, Raquela Rios, working the streets of Cebu City while dreaming of one day traveling the world to meet Mr. Right.
Though some have called it a documentary, The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela is a hybrid of sorts. No, it’s not a mockumentary — instead, it’s what one might call a fictiomentary, along the lines of Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross’ The Road to Guantanamo — though, needless to say, with a considerably lighter theme.
Queen Raquela at the 58th Berlin Film Festival
“The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela” a film by director Olaf De Fleur that was premiered in the Panorama main section at the Berlin film festival won the prestige Teddy awards for the best feature. The Teddy awards have been presented at the Berlin film festival from the year 1980 and last night was the twenty second time they were given away. It’s a great honor for Olaf de Fleur to have won the prize, those who have won them are among others Pedro Almodovar, Gus Van Sant and Lukas Moodyson.
Queen Raquela | Twitch film Review
I wish Pee Wee Herman were still around. If he were, we could make “transtastic” the word of the day and scream outloud whenever it’s used at the Frameline Film Festival, which will be often with regard to Olaf de Fleur Johannesson’s docudrama The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela. Billed as a transsexual Cinderella story, this Berlinale Teddy winner is amazingly engaging for its heady blend of gritty vérité and whimsical fairy tale. Why should I care about froggy-throated Filipina “lady-boy” Raquela Rios and the journey by which she lifts herself out of the gutters of Cebu City, through Internet porn, through Icelandic fish factories, to a delicately-staged freedom in Paris? Because it documents the desire each and every one of us has to achieve our dreams. Because each and every one of us deserves a better life. Because we’re all orphaned royalty exiled from our true kingdom. If Queen Raquela can do it—however she has to—we all can do it, however we must.
Annika Pham spoke with Johannesson for Cineuropa when Raquela screened at the Berlinale. Aaron Hillis did the honors for Premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Pop Matters’ Kevin John rightfully describes Stefan C. Schaefer’s pornmeister performance of Michael as “brilliant” and specifies that—far from a “pity piece”—Queen Raquela’s “sounds and images insinuate rather than inform.” The Austin Chronicle’s Kate Getty describes Raquela’s voice as “a tangled mess of transition.”
Of notable interest is that—amongst the film’s many co-producers, including Johannesson’s own company Poppoli Film—is Blue Eyes Productions, run by Baltasar Kormákur (Jar City). I recall Kormákur referencing the project when we spoke at last year’s Toronto International.
Watch Queen Raquela online for only €3
Popmatters | Kevin John | Queen Raquela Review
The last thing filmdom needs is an exposé on a transsexual, especially since we’re still waiting for that feature-length investigation into heterosexuality. So it’s just as well that we never learn any amazing truth about Raquela in Olaf de Fleur Johannesson’s fantastic The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela: the “truth” would only cheapen a subject that usually devolves into movie-of-the-week topicality. Instead, Johannesson immerses us in the texture of an everyday existence.
