Sure, HBO series “The Deuce” may have piqued some interest in the history of classic porn cinema, but now the outrageous true story of Times Square staple Chelly Wilson is getting the spotlight.
Documentary “Queen of the Deuce” centers on Wilson’s personal history before building a porn theater in the notorious Times Square vicinity known as the Deuce. Wilson’s reign ranged from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s as she earned a reputation as one of the savviest and most enigmatic figures on the scene.
Greek-born Wilson escaped the Holocaust in WWII, emigrated to the U.S., and married a slew of men while being openly gay. Her legacy in the world of adult cinema is examined by filmmaker Valerie Kontakos (“Mana”), who has written, directed, and produced the documentary.
“Queen of the Deuce” is further produced by Ed Barreveld and Despina Pavlaki, who also co-wrote the...
Documentary “Queen of the Deuce” centers on Wilson’s personal history before building a porn theater in the notorious Times Square vicinity known as the Deuce. Wilson’s reign ranged from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s as she earned a reputation as one of the savviest and most enigmatic figures on the scene.
Greek-born Wilson escaped the Holocaust in WWII, emigrated to the U.S., and married a slew of men while being openly gay. Her legacy in the world of adult cinema is examined by filmmaker Valerie Kontakos (“Mana”), who has written, directed, and produced the documentary.
“Queen of the Deuce” is further produced by Ed Barreveld and Despina Pavlaki, who also co-wrote the...
- 4/18/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
They say there’s no revenge like living well. Chelly Wilson barely escaped the Nazi annihilation of the Jewish population of Thessaloniki, which killed 95% of the people she knew, but when she settled in New York City she had no intention of hiding away and counting her sorrows. Like many immigrants, she sought to build a new life by starting a business and working hard to build it up. Uniquely, she chose to dedicate her time to a gay porn cinema, and within in a few years she had built up an empire of such establishments, started producing her own films and became the centre of a social whirlwind. She lived in an apartment above the legendary Adonis, and she was known as the Queen of the Deuce.
Screening as part of the 2023 UK Jewish Film Festival, Valerie Kontakos’ documentary is a survival story like no other. It explores...
Screening as part of the 2023 UK Jewish Film Festival, Valerie Kontakos’ documentary is a survival story like no other. It explores...
- 11/25/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Exclusive: Docaviv, the prestigious all-documentary film festival in Tel Aviv, today announced the International Competition lineup for the 25th anniversary of the event, which takes place May 11-20.
In competition are some of the early favorites for Oscar recognition, including Apolonia, Apolonia, winner of Best Feature at IDFA; 20 Days in Mariupol, the harrowing examination of the siege of the Ukrainian port city in the early days of the Russian invasion; Kokomo City, winner of two awards at Sundance, and The Eternal Memory, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance [scroll for the full International Competition lineup].
Docaviv is an Oscar-qualifying festival, with winners in the International, Israeli, and Shorts competitions automatically becoming eligible for Academy Awards consideration. It is the only all-documentary festival in Israel and widely considered one of the world’s foremost nonfiction film events.
Some of the expected international guests include Emmy-winning documentary producer John Battsek, who will hold...
In competition are some of the early favorites for Oscar recognition, including Apolonia, Apolonia, winner of Best Feature at IDFA; 20 Days in Mariupol, the harrowing examination of the siege of the Ukrainian port city in the early days of the Russian invasion; Kokomo City, winner of two awards at Sundance, and The Eternal Memory, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance [scroll for the full International Competition lineup].
Docaviv is an Oscar-qualifying festival, with winners in the International, Israeli, and Shorts competitions automatically becoming eligible for Academy Awards consideration. It is the only all-documentary festival in Israel and widely considered one of the world’s foremost nonfiction film events.
Some of the expected international guests include Emmy-winning documentary producer John Battsek, who will hold...
- 4/20/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinephil has sold Valerie Kontakos’ documentary “Queen of the Deuce,” which charts the rise of Chelly Wilson, the queen of the porn industry in 1970s New York, to several key territories. The film premiered at Doc NYC and is now playing in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival.
Greece’s Ert, Canada’s Doc Channel, Switzerland’s Radio Télévision Suisse and Israel’s Channel 8 came on board at the funding stage. It has now been acquired by Spanish streamer FilmIn, Swedish broadcaster Ur, and U.S. theatrical distributor Greenwich Entertainment.
The film follows Wilson from pre-World War II Greece to New York, where she rose to become a major figure on the porn circuit in Times Square from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. She is shown to be a trailblazing, taboo-breaking entrepreneur and an unconventional matriarch. It is presented as an empowering story of survival,...
Greece’s Ert, Canada’s Doc Channel, Switzerland’s Radio Télévision Suisse and Israel’s Channel 8 came on board at the funding stage. It has now been acquired by Spanish streamer FilmIn, Swedish broadcaster Ur, and U.S. theatrical distributor Greenwich Entertainment.
The film follows Wilson from pre-World War II Greece to New York, where she rose to become a major figure on the porn circuit in Times Square from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. She is shown to be a trailblazing, taboo-breaking entrepreneur and an unconventional matriarch. It is presented as an empowering story of survival,...
- 3/11/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
In Valerie Kontakos’ fourth feature, “The Queen of the Deuce,” the New York native, Athens-based director and NYU Tisch School of the Arts alumna, gives an alternate take on cultural history as seen through the eyes of Chelly Wilson, queen of the porno industry in 1970s New York and unconventional feminist, against the backdrop of the rise of feminism, the sexual revolution and gay pride. The film plays in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival.
Kontakos says she knew Wilson through her mother, whose brother was a producer of Greek films who, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, would provide Wilson with Greek family films for her Sunday programs. “When I turned 15 or 16, I said to [my mother]: ‘Now that I can work part time, I am going to get myself a job because I want to start making my own money and I want to be independent.’ And,...
Kontakos says she knew Wilson through her mother, whose brother was a producer of Greek films who, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, would provide Wilson with Greek family films for her Sunday programs. “When I turned 15 or 16, I said to [my mother]: ‘Now that I can work part time, I am going to get myself a job because I want to start making my own money and I want to be independent.’ And,...
- 3/7/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival kicks off its 25th edition Thursday at a time when the nonfiction genre has arguably reached unprecedented heights.
This year’s festival, which takes place March 2 – 12 in the seaside Mediterranean city, unfolds just days after veteran French docmaker Nicolas Philibert won the Golden Bear in Berlin for his documentary about a Paris mental health care facility, “On the Adamant.” The award capped a fortnight in which Sean Penn’s gonzo doc about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “Superpower,” also generated plenty of buzz (albeit lukewarm reviews).
Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Cyrielle Raingou took home Rotterdam’s Tiger Award just a few weeks earlier for “Le Spectre de Boko Haram,” a riveting view of terrorism seen through children’s eyes. And one summer ago, Laura Poitras triumphed on the Lido with “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” her docu-portrait of the photographer and activist Nan Goldin, which won the...
This year’s festival, which takes place March 2 – 12 in the seaside Mediterranean city, unfolds just days after veteran French docmaker Nicolas Philibert won the Golden Bear in Berlin for his documentary about a Paris mental health care facility, “On the Adamant.” The award capped a fortnight in which Sean Penn’s gonzo doc about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “Superpower,” also generated plenty of buzz (albeit lukewarm reviews).
Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Cyrielle Raingou took home Rotterdam’s Tiger Award just a few weeks earlier for “Le Spectre de Boko Haram,” a riveting view of terrorism seen through children’s eyes. And one summer ago, Laura Poitras triumphed on the Lido with “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” her docu-portrait of the photographer and activist Nan Goldin, which won the...
- 2/28/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
"She was a force of nature!!" A festival trailer has debuted for an indie documentary film titled Queen of the Deuce, made by filmmaker Valerie Kontakos. This is premiering at the Doc NYC Film Festival in New York City - with its world premiering happening today (November 11th). It might play at other festivals, but this is the initial unveiling so far. Intro from Doc NYC: Chelly Wilson was a Christmas-celebrating Jewish grandma, a lesbian who married men, and the proud owner of porn theaters in 1970s NYC. Through audio recordings, Chelly recounts her pre-war escape from Greece through her unlikely motherhood and rise to wealth as a shrewd businesswoman on "The Deuce," aka New York City's infamous 42nd Street filled with pornographic offerings from the 60s to the 80s. Fascinating WWII and NYC archival footage illustrate this entertaining story of a family and its matriarch, a truly unique character with chutzpah in spades.
- 11/11/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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