WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL AND UPSTATE WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION (UPWIFT) SPECIAL SCREENING

Thirsty is a film directed by Margo Pelletier,
USA / 2016 / 97 minutes

Tickets will be available at the door – this is a large venue!

UPWIFT members get a photo-op with Thirsty herself!

Prepare to be dazzled! Thirsty is the compelling story of Scott Townsend a.k.a., Thirsty Burlington, who caught the filmmaker’s eye during Thirsty’s striking performance as Cher. The film lays bare Scott’s life growing up as a girl-boy in Cambridge, MA public housing and eventually becoming a revered drag queen delighting club-goers with her spot on impersonation of Cher.

Using an array of storytelling techniques within a non-linear structure, the film moves through dramatic, fantasy and musical sequences, capturing both the harsh realities of living a life with a slippery gender and the sparkle that Thirsty exudes. Townsend embodies this natural phenomenon of a gender that roams between male and female. “A bouquet from a single stem,” as Thirsty sings. Thirsty asks that we let everyone be beautiful and create the world they want. For Townsend that means, “To be safe and comfortable in all his skins, and loved for all that he is.” –Ben F. Fischer

Q&A participants: Thirsty Burlington, Margo Pelletier, Lisa Thomas (UPWIFT Member!), Keith Leonard, Shawn Greene, Lex Grey, Tim Bruno

The event includes an after party with live performances by Lex Grey and the Top Dogs, Thirsty Burlington and composer, Nicky Egan with catering by SPAF owner Erica Price. Cash bar. Tickets for the screening and after party are: $15.