When filmmaker Emma Fidel began work on Queen of New York more than three years ago, she envisioned the documentary as the perfect melding of two of her passions politics and drag performance that would also instill a sense of curiosity and urgency with regard to local elections in cities across the U.S.

Judging by the applause that greeted Queen of New York following its sold-out premiere last week at NewFest , New Yorks premiere LGBTQ+ film festival, Fidels intended message was warmly received. The film offers a poignant and meticulously researched look at drag performer Marti Gould Cummings , who in 2019 embarked on a historic campaign to become the first openly nonbinary New York City Council member.

Had Cummings who uses they/them pronouns gone on to represent Manhattans District 7 in 2021, they would have been the first drag queen elected to office on the East Coast and the second in the nation, following the 2019 election of Maebe A. Girl to the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles.