RuPaul’s Drag Race celebrated Pride 2023 with a special edition of ‘Portrait of a Queen’ (2019 Emmy Nominee) featuring Bosco from Season 14. We followed Bosco’s journey of having Facial Feminization Surgery and navigating life after Drag Race. “Face of Bosco” is a topical look at transgender healthcare and the personal undertaking of a beloved, fan-favorite queen. Portrait of a Queen is a series that celebrates each queen’s unique life outside of the main RuPaul’s Drag Race series frame. Our objective with this special “Face of Bosco” edition was to celebrate Bosco’s individuality while bridging the awareness/information gap when it comes to the fans’ (and general public’s) awareness of such personal transitions. As the trans community grapples to gain full human rights across our nation and world, we felt it was our duty to produce such an informative celebration.
Producing this special “Face of Bosco” edition of ‘Portrait of a Queen’ was no easy feat! The project was specifically planned around Bosco’s real-life Facial Feminization Surgery journey, so we had to work within the relative constraints of the practical locations, timing, etc. that would best accommodate her; our goal was to capture everything as naturally as possible, and we did just that. Our crew traveled across the country from New York City to Seattle in order to film Bosco at home, meeting with local healthcare professionals, and eventually undergoing Facial Feminization Surgery; this required a ton of logistical planning and clearance, but it was of course well worth it to have such an intimate glimpse into this process as it unfolded in real time, as opposed to the logistically easier route of having Bosco travel to New York City to simply recap/be interviewed about the process in our home-base studio. While filming at Bosco’s home, our agile crew did an exemplary job of simply being flies on the walls with cameras; we captured everything as it unfolded. To accompany this observational approach, we also captured interview footage with Bosco explaining to the audience how she emotionally and practically went through the surgery. To achieve our goal of providing as much information as possible regarding this process, we captured footage of the surgery itself, which was very difficult logistically and technically but brings a reality to the process and episode that most people have never seen before. The cherry on top of this powerful project is of course the crowning reveal of Bosco’s face after the surgery. We shot this reveal in Los Angeles a little over a month after the initial surgery shoot in Seattle, which again proved logistically challenging as our crew traveled out from New York City to produce and shoot the grand reveal party.
“Face of Bosco” has been a resounding success, as it’s opened the door for countless people to not only learn about but really see Facial Feminization Surgery. In an era of inflammatory headlines and discriminatory laws regarding the trans community, it’s been amazingly fulfilling to see how positively this production has been received. Whether we opened someone’s eyes to the possibility of such a change or provided another with practical steps to achieve it, we couldn’t be prouder of all that “Face of Bosco” has brought to the world!
