Screening: Day Dream

*** Film with English subtitles

Whether channeling a yodeler or Celine Dion, consummate clown Julien Cliche (a.k.a. Dream) did it with humour and passion. That is, until the relentless pace of Montreal’s nightlife became a grind and Quebec City’s quotidian pleasures beckoned, leaving a colourful past to sift through as the glitter-dust settled.

Documentarian Mael Cabaret lets Julien speak for himself, following as drinks flow and eyelashes are applied at Cabaret Mado in 2013 Montreal, Dream offering constructive criticism to her fellow drag queens. Fast forward to Quebec City in 2017 and Julien has traded wigs for a backwards Hurley hat, determined to put himself first and the drama away. The siren’s call of Dream remains, however, even in post-pandemic 2021, and as Julien has blunt, wise-cracking conversations with fellow drag soldiers about the “wonderful, mad times” and “many hard times,” Julien’s undying love for the craft shines through. Day Dream is a rare chance to step behind the sequined curtain, allowing us to appreciate the craft, collateral damage, and ruined knees that went into the effervescent stage presence of one of Montreal’s most fabulous performers.