Chemo Dao
A short film about the flourishing drag scene in Tbilisi.
13 September 2023
Hermine Virabian
Chemo dao (Sister of mine) is an attempt to bring together the diverse and sometimes contradictory layers of Tbilisi. From suburban bazaars to the underground queer scene, the merging of the pieces gives it life. “Why do you need those things?” the old lady asks from the back of her tiny-messy shop, “It’s for the theater,” the short answer comes from the drag queen, who is just a simple guy in the daytime bazaar.
Director’s note
Sister of mine, can you see me?
Not in your dreams, but somewhere there
where we pretend to coexist.
Sister of mine, space
can you question and then unlearn me?
To be able to find me again
in new forms, in a new phase.
Sister of mine, community
do you accept me?
For solidarity and liberation,
where we get lost in mutual esteem.
Sister of mine,
provide some room,
and give me some space
to exist.
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