Panti Bliss, the titular “queen” in director Conor Horgan’s crowd-pleasing, uplifting documentary, was on the frontlines of Ireland’s recent push for same-sex marriage rights, which culminated with a 2015 referendum that amended the country’s Constitution. Also known as Rory O’Neill, this well-known drag queen and social activist has devoted her life to combatting homophobia and raising awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS research. But she has also had to cope with personal setbacks ever since Rory’s childhood years in the small town of Ballinrobe, where growing up gay was a crucible of sorts for the person who would eventually become Ireland’s answer to RuPaul. Like the American drag queen, Panti — an indestructible force of nature — has inspired people around the world to embrace their sexual identities and resist gender conformity, something that Queen of Ireland reveals with equal dashes of humor and poignancy.
– By David Scott Diffrient