Priscilla Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named "Priscilla", along the way encountering various different groups and individuals. The Adventures of Priscilla stars Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp as the three drag queens, one of whom is a heterosexual trans woman with the other two being homosexual.
What's it about?
Containing elements of comedy, the film's title is a pun on the fact that in English speaking cultures, "queen" is a slang term for a male homosexual. The film was noted for helping to bring Australian cinema to world attention and for its positive portrayal of LGBT individuals, helping to introduce LGBT themes to a mainstream audience. Alternatively, the film has also been criticised for perceived racist and sexist stereotyping. The film received predominantly positive reviews and won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 67th Academy Awards. It was also screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and became a cult classic in both Australia and abroad. Priscilla subsequently provided the basis for a musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which opened in 2006 in Sydney before traveling to New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and New York's Broadway.