Pangina Heals, Asia's most famous drag queen soars into stardom as she struggles for acceptance from her mother at home.
Despite Thailand’s image as LGBTQ+ friendly, Pan Pan's childhood was marked by loneliness and bullying. He was as a gay, overweight boy with an alcoholic mother. Everything changed when he discovered the art of drag and crafted his own fearless persona, Pangina Heals. This documentary dives deep into Thailand’s unique queer culture and gender identities while following Pan Pan’s transformative journey as he conquers the drag scene locally and abroad. He overcomes panic attacks and struggles to gain acceptance from his mother as he becomes the first drag star from a developing country to have a residency in Las Vegas. Through it all, we witness the inspiring power of drag to heal.
Pailin has directed two feature-length Netflix Original documentaries. Her first film, Hope Frozen, won Thailand's first International Emmy and Hot Docs’ Best International Feature Documentary prize. Her second film, The Trapped 13: How We Survived the Thai Cave, was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy in 2023. She comes from a journalism background, hosting and reporting several episodes of Al Jazeera’s current affairs documentary program, 101 East, and producing pieces for The New York Times and National Geographic. Critics praise her for crafting deeply personal narratives that explore themes of grief, resilience, and identity with sensitivity and nuance. She splits her time between Bangkok and North Carolina but grew up in Asia and has been making documentaries in the region for the past twelve years.
World Premiere available
