Feathers Films

In 2020 when theatres closed we started making film as well as theatre. We received two Arts Council England grants for short films at this time. In 2021 we released our first film PartUs, in 2022 our second; KingDom and we have just finished post on our third; Eternal Hourglass. Feathers director Joanna has just graduated from the producing MA at the National Film and Television school and the company intends to continue to balance theatre and film long term.

Eternal Hourglass 2023

Feathers third film Eternal Hourglass brings together world class acrobats Isis Clegg-Vinell, Cornelius Atkinson and Nathan Price, with octogenarian performer Joan Le Vasseur, for a tense political period drama inspired by Nietzsche’s Eternal Return and the spread of right wing ideology the world over. Trust in times of mistrust plays out on screen as personal and professional relationships are pushed to the limit.

This short was written and directed by Joanna Vymeris, shot by award winning cinematographer Jack Edwards and produced with Jen Smith. Full credits

KingDom 2022

Six drag kings embark on a moustache curling adventure to steal the Monument to Masculinity, a solid gold urinal, in a mad-cap attempt to keep their gentlemen’s club 'KingDom' afloat in times of economic peril.  

This comic satire puts the underrepresented art of the drag king centre stage and, in a time when live performance remains complicated, gives some of the UK's finest queer cabaret artists a chance to showcase their work on screen. It captures the theatricality, comedy and artistry of the queer cabaret scene and shows, above all, the artifice and construct of traditional notions of gender especially in film and mainstream cinema genres. This is not a drama about women being drag kings. This is a world RUN by kings. This is the king’s world. This is their KingDom. 

Joanna cast KingDom during the first two lockdowns and developed the project over zooms working with some already established drag kings to build the group and develop new characters. KingDom was completed in January 2022 and launched at the iconic Glory in London. It has since started its festival journey and made its international premier at Wicked Queer this year and screened at 15 international festivals in 6 countries. It was awarded Best Director at LALGBTQ+ film festival and an award for excellence at Unbordered LGBTQ. It also won best editing at QueerStories, and best short at Orchid International Queer film festival ROSARITO. It has screened at the biggest queer film festivals in India, South Korea and central and eastern Europe. Full credits

Partus 2021

PartUs is a short documentary performance film exploring the experience of a pregnant circus artist preparing for birth against the backdrop of the pandemic. The film was written and conceived by aerialist Rosie Rowlands and directed by Joanna Vymeris (Feathers of Daedalus Circus). PartUs blends Rosie's aerial piece which she performed 8 months pregnant with animation by Rosa Beiroa, poetry by Elle Dillon Reams, new composition by Aelfwyn Shipton and audio interview with circus mothers discussing the complications of navigating pregnancy, motherhood, and a career as a circus artist. PartUs has been selected for various festivals including Academy Award qualifying American Documentary and Animation Festival, and the London Independent Film Festival, and the Circus International Film Festival.