WHIPPING HAIR!

Original title: BATE CABELO!

72 Min. | BR | 2025

Language: OmeU | Original language: portugiesisch

Director: Luís Knihs

Márcia Pantera came up from the iconic São Paulo nightclub Nostro Mondo. She started to raise attention around 1990, when she became recognized as a trailblazing drag artist and performer through her shows, in which she furiously whipped her long hair through the air. Today, many performers are inspired by her and this particular piece of “hairography” has become an essential part of contemporary drag culture in Brazil. This charismatic documentary portrait accompanies Márcia on a new chapter in her life – gossiping, performing and reflecting with some of her peers, while the film embeds their stories into multifaceted archival material, offering glimpses into histories of Brazil drag culture and nightclubs. Whipping Hair! is more than a conventional drag portrait – through the lens of filmmaker Luís Knihs and the electric and multifaceted personalities in front of the camera.

(text by Kareem Jamaal Baholzer)