From the Elena Stevenson blog, by elenastevenson on 2008-10-03 16:39:16 (original link)

Get this: a director from Iceland films a story about a Filipina transgendered prostitute. How did that happen? Well, truth is stranger than fiction, and director Olaf de Fleur took many cues from real life in “The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela.” In fact, he created a new genre—a “visionmentary.” The unique way he filmed “Queen Raquela” shows how this subculture unfolds in the Philippines and beyond.

By happenstance, de Fleur ran into a couple of overdressed “ladyboys” on a trip to the Philippines. A ladyboy will sometimes describe herself as “a chick with a dick.” Crude, but hey, it gets the point across. These people have not undergone sex-change surgery—they believe they are female on the inside, male on the outside. They dress as girls, and often work as prostitutes, but dream of marrying straight men and having children like little girls anywhere.

De Fleur was fascinated by this “conundrum—it was like a snake eating its tail.” So he found Raquela Rios, one such transsexual, and allowed her to play “herself” in a story that was loosely based on her own life. This filming method gives “Queen Raquela” an engaging plot with the ring of realism.

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Wow that’s a guy?! haha

lol! This is cute.

I definitely want to see this.

That’s scary…

I think it’s cute.

I’ve never seen a Thai ladyboy and I don’t think I want to.

I’ve seen a few when I visited Thailand...or I think I did.

How is this cute?

I hate Thai ladyboys, they look better than me!

That’s bizarre--when men dress up like women, and women feel jealous ‘cause they look so pretty! It is a very risky lifestyle, though.

Have you seen how pretty they look? I’m not saying all of them look good but alo to f them look better than a lot of actual girls.

They are showing this in New York at several theaters throughout the city. This is one of the second bisexual/transgender themed documentaries about phillipina’s I have seen. The first one being Paper Dolls which was about the plight of transgendered workers in Israel who work as caregivers to orthodox jewish men.

I believe you, Nightfire....some of them look great. Wow, Mia, that Paper Dolls sounds fascinating. Orhtodox men, really? I might check that out. I did not know that Queen Raquela was playing in more than one NYC location.

Wowww! I remember there was a transgender person on America’s Next Top Model named Isis. But Isis hadn’t grown into her own skin yet. She was a pretty girl.

Kind of reminds me of when Korean TV shows transform male celebrities to girls.