The Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival returns for its 28th year

Thursday, October 17

I Am Divine

There’s never really been anyone like Divine. The actor and drag queen born Harris Glenn Milstead rose to fame – or maybe infamy – thanks to roles in a variety of outrageous, deliberately transgressive cult films by his close friend and filmmaker John Waters. Divine would later branch out into a music and traditional film career, releasing a series of disco records and originating the role of Edna Turnblad in Waters’ film Hairspray, before passing away at the age of 42 in 1988. Since his death, his persona has been emulated by a variety of performers (actors playing Edna in the Broadway adaptation of Hairspray are the most obvious, but The Little Mermaid’s Ursula is as Divine as it gets). Director Jeffrey Schwarz tracks Divine’s career on screen and stage in I Am Divine, a never-dull tribute to one of the most vibrant personalities ever created.

I Am Divine will be screened at the Oriental Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $15, $10 for students/seniors. Following the film, Beans and Barley will host an opening night reception. And if I Am Divine whets your appetite, the festival team is sponsoring a post-fest screening of his most provocative film: Pink Flamingos, on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 11 p.m. at the UWM Union Theatre, for $5.

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