The banned trans Joker film finally has a trailer and a theatrical release
In 2022, Vera Drew’s deeply personal, incredibly irreverent stylized memoir was published The Volksjoker made a splashy debut at the Toronto International Film Festival – in that immediately after its premiere, DC Comics’ parent company, Warner Bros., filed a cease and desist order against the film, halting all subsequent screenings and threatening the film’s future was endangered. in doubt. It took years for the film to see the light of day, apart from an occasional festival screening. I saw it at the 2023 Fantastic Fest, where Vera Drew was there to talk about the experience, but made sure not to address the question of whether her film could ever get a proper theatrical run. But now, according to the poster, “it’s coming soon. Legally. Serious.”
The Volksjoker has finally been approved for release, albeit covered in disclaimers reminding everyone that it is not an official DC project, and that the satirical versions of Batman, the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Penguin and other comic book characters are not canon or affiliated with WB -Products. Not that anyone who’s ever seen the movie could make that mistake. The Volksjoker is undeniably a personal story – specifically a transgender awakening and coming out story, complete with a first queer romance and a journey of self-definition.
It’s kind of in the Todd Phillips pattern joker, but it’s undeniably its own riotous, joyful, deeply emotional creation, a genre mashup that uses costumes, simple animation effects, digital veneers and wacky props to stylize Vera’s coming-of-age story by turning it into a pop art -odyssey. Here’s the official description:
In the absurdist, autobiographically inspired dark comedy that brutally reimagines the Joker’s origins, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin) struggles with her gender identity as she tries in vain to get into Gotham City’s only comedy program in a world where comedy is forbidden. Joker the Harlequin, allied with a team of rejects and misfits, forms an illegal anti-comedy group that puts her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader who controls the city.
THE PEOPLE’S JOKER features cameos from comedic multi-hyphenate Tim Heidecker, award-winning actor Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford (Netflix’s Big mouthSwimming for adults Euthanasia in teenagers), and Scott Aukerman (Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis co-creator and host of the Comedy Bang! Pop! podcast), with Vera Drew, Lynn Downey (Amazon Prime Videos Daisy Jones & The Six), Nathan Faustyn (SADDLED) and Kane Distler, in his film debut, who form the film’s core cast. Because her own life as a trans woman and artist motivated the film’s story and theme, the script was co-written by close creative collaborator Bri LeRose (Netflix’s Magic for people And Chad & JT go deep).
The Volksjoker opens in New York on April 5 at the IFC Center and will expand to the US and Canada throughout April and May. Here you will find a list of participating theaters and screening dates on the film’s website.