the FRF Video Club presents...
Venus Boyz
A film by Gabriel Baur
When drag comes to mind, many picture the glamour and spectacle of drag queens.
Alongside that movement existed drag kings, performers asking a different set of questions: What is masculinity? Who owns it? What happens when women claim, explore, and challenge it?
Single Ticket Viewers
Access three days of unlimited film viewing, plus a special Q&A with director Gabriel Baur.
Released in 2002, Venus Boyz was ahead of its time, offering an intimate look at a community that received far less mainstream attention.
Today, the film feels remarkably relevant—a powerful portrait of identity and transformation right in New York City.
World Premiere at the Locarno Filmfestival 2001 | International Premiere Berlinale 2002 |
Karlovy Vary IFF 2002 | Moscow IFF 2002 | Warsaw IFF 2002 | Los Angeles Outfest IFF 2002 | Singapore IFF
2002 | Rio De Janeiro IFF 2002 | Mostra De Sao Paulo IFF 2002 | Chicago IFF 2002 | Taipei Golden Horse IFF
2002 | Haifa IFF 2002 | Sydney Mardi Gras 2003 | Seoul WFFIS
Gabriel Baur got to film through visual arts, drama and cultural anthropology. After completing her MA in Cultural Anthropology, Psychology and Mass Communication with a Master thesis about film at the University of Zurich, she made her first short films at the Film school of New York University 1983/84. From 1983 to 2001 she filmed and lived for several years in metropolises such as New York City, Berlin, Mexico City and on the war front in Central America/Nicaragua.
Gabriel Baur received national and international awards, her films and scripts as director and author include: „Cada Dia Historia“ (Every Day History, NIC/CH 1986/87); „Die Bettkönigin“ (Queen of Bed, CH 1994), „Venus Boyz“ (CH/DE/USA) that has become a classic in its field. Co-founder of ONIX Film 1983 and ONFEATURES Film in 2008, Baur’s films as producer/ co-producer include “Venus Boyz”, “Glow” or “Nordland“ by Ingo J.Biermann (2014).
In 1990 she became European Delegate for the Swiss Filmmakers Association ARF/FDS. During 2010 – 2014 Gabriel Baur was Vice-President of the «Federation of European Film Directors» FERA that represents around 20’000 European Filmmakers. 2014 she co-initiated the first Swiss gender data collection & study in the Swiss Film Industry, published in 2015. Co-founder of SWAN Swiss Women’s Audiovisual Network as well as SWAN Association, she was Co-president of SWAN Association from 2018 till 2021 and presently Special Consultant SWAN. Currently, she is living and working between Zurich and Lisbon.
Gabriel Baur is a member of the European Film Academy EFA and the Swiss Film Academy,