San Francisco came to London last night as the juggernauts that are the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence hit town. They’re here for the BFI Flare’s launch of Hunky Jesus, a heart-warming new documentary by director Jennifer M Kroot that kick-started BFI Flare’s 40^th anniversary of the best queer film festival.

For the uninitiated, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a large group of drag/trans performance activists. Founded in San Francisco in 1979, initially as an antidote to the prevailing macho gay male look of the times, they quickly found their purpose as the AIDS epidemic took hold in the early 80s, providing support, political outreach, information and companionship – combined with their signature sense of fun and belonging – to San Francisco’s devastated queer community. Word spread and as a group they grew quickly, now, over forty years later, they are active in over fifty US cities and in forty countries worldwide. Their signature look is a variation of a nun’s habit, overly made-up faces, largely with very white make-up, extravagant wigs and head gear. They are inclusive and are for everyone, whether providing wigs for cancer patients who have lost their hair, queer sex education, freedom from religious indoctrination or LGBTQ human rights. All served with a healthy dose of joyful camp and satire, San Francisco style.

Kroot explores their world through the lens of the annual Hunky Jesus competition, held each Easter in San Francisco’s Delores Park. There, a diverse group of competitors compete for the title of either Hunky Jesus or Foxy Mary. Kroot took a camera crew of eight operators to follow 2023’s festival, luckily held on a beautifully sunny day. Footage of the festival is interwoven with the history of the Sisters, which combines archival footage and interviews with both current Sisters, including founding members, and supportive religious leaders. The conversations around religion are particularly interesting, religion being far more prominent in the US than in the increasingly secular UK. The history of their work during the hopeless 80s AIDS crisis is poignant. The overall result is a colourful, heart-warming story showcasing that the counter-culture essence of San Francisco remains alive and kicking. This is particularly important as the right-wing press would have you believe San Francisco these days is only about homeless opioid users and tech billionaires.

We learn that many of the Sisters grew up in troublesome religious households and that, as a group, the Sisters have faced a lot of negative right-wing press and opposition from conservative firebrand religious commentators. Some of this opposition is unsurprising as the Hunky Jesus performers and competitors are often deliberately provocative – we see scantily-clad Hunky Jesuses in stripper heels, covered in baby oil, strapped to sex dolls, and pole dancing on wooden crosses. The Foxy Marys are just as naughty. San Francisco’s finest come out to celebrate and participate – thousands of allies join the playful, organised chaos each year. This is the real San Francisco.

The underlying message is of queer fun, empowerment and community. Kroot achieves this. Is this the slickest documentary? No. Are the outfits on display the coolest looks? No. Is the humour and banter the sharpest or most original? No. But that’s not the point. The point is the creation of a safe space where everyone is welcome, and where anything goes and there’s no pressure to be anything else than your truest self, empowered and full of radical joy. There are a lot of hot, sexy people about too. That’s a hard space to create and both Kroot and the Sisters have achieved this.

Judging by the audience reaction last night at Flare, this film will have legs. It’s an important, resilient counter-balance to the increasingly fascist right-wing narrative coming out of the US.  Enjoy it. “Amen, Awomen and All the others!” 

PS You may also like to check out Queergiuru’s interviews with Jennifer M Kroot HERE and Sister Roma HERE