This student's film on Columbia drag scene caps daylong Stronger than Fiction festival

Roughly 18 months ago University of Missouri student Cam Medrano started interviewing and filming three local Columbia drag artists.

After capturing hundreds of hours of footage, Medrano is ready to present their roughly 18-minute short film "Royale" to the Columbia community at the eighth annual Stronger than Fiction film festival Saturday at the Missouri Theater.

"I knew that I wanted to make a film that had to do with the queer community in Columbia," Medrano said. "... I just thought there is nothing more grand, more extravagant than drag. I have very much been involved with drag my whole life and it has been essentially part of my own becoming as a queer person myself."

The festival is the capstone project for students at the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the University of Missouri, and Medrano's film is among 13 films in the Saturday showcase.

There are three blocks in which the community can attend the free film screenings. The first starts 1 p.m., second at 4 p.m. and third starts 7 p.m. "Royale" is the last film slated for screening during the 7 p.m. block. Films then will be available to view online starting Sunday through May 20 through the Method M Films website. This is the production house associated with the Murray Center.

Making the film

Subjects in "Royale" are Veronika Versace also known as Shawn James, Kaycee Adams also known as David Hall and Krystal Queer also known as Peyton, who is a teen drag performer.

"My film focuses on drag queens all at different stages of their careers," Medrano said, adding conversations centered on being drag artists in a conservative state where a drag ban is sought in the state legislature.

PROMO, the state's LGBTQ advocacy organization, notes three drag ban bills in its 2024 legislative tracker. All three have either not had a committee assignment, not made it out of a Senate committee or not made it to the House floor and the 2024 legislative session ends May 17.

The three people on which Medrano focused "captured everything that Columbia drag is and mid-Missouri drag is," they said. "I think that small-market drag is what a lot of drag media doesn't touch on. I didn't want it be a replica of what you see on TV all the time."

Because Medrano had so much footage, a piece of advice they heard in the editing process was a great impact.

"A filmmaker just the other week who was watching a cut of the film said that, 'You can't capture the nuances of an entire community in a short film, but you can allow audiences the opportunity to resonate with your characters, connect with your characters.' That is what has been important to me in finishing this film," Medrano said.

Celebrating peers

The entire final capstone project has been a collaborative effort among Medrano's peers, they said, noting some standouts.

One is "I Will Take The Blame," by Elena Fu.

"This one is really impressive. She is a Chinese student and filmmaker and had gone back home to visit her parents who were in the process of getting a divorce. The film follows her as she tries to mend her parent's relationship and ends up handling their divorce for them," Medrano said.

The next is "Satan's Greatest Lies," by Michael Coleman, who is a digital production instructor in the Communication department at the MU College of Arts and Sciences. He is pursuing his masters at the Murray Center.

Coleman's short film is about Texas environmental activist George Russell contending with the sudden death of a daughter and what it means to attempt to preserve the land he owns, Medrano said.

Finally, "Drona: The Movie" is a short from Lauren Spakowski about Columbia teen siblings in a band and their attempts to preserve what they have as one of the siblings goes away to college, Medrano said.

Fu and Coleman's films are part of the 7 p.m. block while Spakowski's is part of the 1 p.m. block.

All 13 films will be judged by New York-based film critic and reporter, as well as curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image Eric Hynes; Emmy-nominated producer and filmmaker Chloe Gbai; and Mexican-American filmmaker Isabel Castro. The top four films selected by the jury at the Stronger than Fiction festival will move on to the 2025 First Look Film Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.

Medrano's future

Medrano plans to move to New York after graduation to continue a career in film production, along with working on personal projects.

Medrano came to MU originally from Sacramento, California, starting at the journalism school with a goal of working in broadcast journalism. That changed when Medrano first was handed a camera and a passion for documentary filmmaking grew.

"I fell in love with everything the Murray Center had to offer," Medrano said.

While Medrano's future plans may take them to the east coast, there is a hope to make a Midwest return, including to Columbia.

"I definitely have considered coming back either for grad school or teaching film down the line. I have had so much growth here, I would love to be able to revisit Missouri down the line, especially after I have established myself in my career a little bit more," Medrano said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Stronger than Fiction festival capstone for MU documentary students