With over ten years of unprecedented access, Being BeBe follows the intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer from Cameroon who is also the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Over time, BeBe struggles with celebrity, authenticity, and the changing nature of drag and gender itself.
The Filmmakers
Emily Branham
Director/Producer
Emily Branham is a filmmaker in Brooklyn who is passionate about exploring what makes artists tick. Her short documentary, Legend: a film about Greg Garing, won the jury prize for Best Film of the International Documentary Challenge at Hot Docs in Toronto, and screened at festivals worldwide, including Sheffield Doc/Fest, IDFA, Nashville, and the Rooftop Films series in NYC. She has directed music videos for artists including Jonatha Brooke, Eleni Mandell, Jeff Litman and the Muckrakers. She has twice been invited to the I-Park Artists in Residence program. Emily recently collaborated with Mill+ as the director of over 20 documentary-style short films for a global brand. She has also directed films for clients including J.P. Morgan, AppNexus, Aritzia, Lincoln Center, Atlantic Council, and Martha Stewart Weddings, frequently in collaboration with Bat-Sheva Guez.
Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, she studied Radio/TV/Film at Northwestern University. From there Emily moved to New York City where she often works as a freelance post-production, motion design, and visual effects producer. She has produced for clients including Google, Nike, PBS, Nova, Paramount Pictures, Gwen Stefani and Kanye West, and for production companies including Roof Studio, The Mill, M ss ng P eces, Show of Force, Imaginary Forces and H.S.I. Productions among others.
She is currently in post-production on her first feature documentary: BEING BEBE explores the intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer originally from Cameroon, and the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Bottom line: This girl loves making good things with smart people. She believes wholeheartedly in the unlimited powers of combining music and images, dance and story, light and rhythm, real people and raw emotion.