BECOMING RITA BOOK
Samara Hammud
Samara Hammud
BECOMING RITA BOOK
BA final project31:08 min, documentary, 2021
The documentary "Becoming Rita Book" accompanies Jeroen, a gay cis-man from Rotterdam, from the age of 21 to 24 in the development of his drag alter ego Rita Book. In search of his drag character, Jeroen finds empowerment, family and understanding for himself. On his way he has to face fears, depression and the effects of the pandemic. Jeroen tells what it is like to live in a society in which femininity is often punished and also shows the difficult sides of drag that are hidden behind the show.
"Becoming Rita Book" is about an intimate and personal side of drag. The film deals with „realness“ in relation to gender and family and tries to deconstruct the assertion of truth in the medium of the documentary itself on a formal level. The gaze of the director is revealed through individual, strongly staged images, through which she also throws back the gaze of the audience. Drag is therefore not made into a spectacle and "Becoming Rita Book" shows the before and after the show and the subversive potential of drag.