#casa roshell

CASA ROSHELL (2017) dir. Camila José Donoso Roshell and Liliana have managed Casa Roshell together for over fifteen years. The House is a refuge for drag queens, trans women, and anyone else looking to express their femininity in a safe, fun space. Roshell and Liliana receive all of them with their bags and makeup, and thus they transform themselves in front of the mirror. In a small hall with a very intimate stage, the guests perform and talk about their frustrations and dreams. (link in title)

Casa Roshell (2017, Camila José Donoso)

 You’d never know this is your home away from home. The surveillance camera outside shows a drab reception area and an unremarkable street in Mexico City; inside, the lights flash, but the tables are empty. Yet preparations are soon underway and fixed categories cease to apply: stubble is removed, make-up applied and strands of hair are teased into place; the camera is trained not on the men themselves, but what they see in the mirror. There’s time for a lesson before the festivities get going, to practise walking, consider the letters of the alphabet, think about what sort of girl to be. Music plays, drinks are served and the last boundaries are suspended: those between man and woman, gay, straight and bi, past and present, reality and fiction. The people chatting at the tables or waiting before the darkroom are shot to resemble characters from a film, impossibly glamourous, which doesn’t mean their stories aren’t true. Whenever film stock replaces the digital images, it’s like a symbol for the memories Casa Roshell contains, the spectres of all those who came here and no longer felt alone. No matter how small the utopia, the world outside can still catch up. 

Casa Roshell (dir. Camila José Donoso, 2017)

Casa Roshell (dir. Camila José Donoso, 2017)

#24 Casa Roshell, 2017 dir. Camila José Donoso

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