QFest: Funeral Parade of Roses

QFest, Cinema St. Louis' spotlight on LGBTQ films, closes with Toshio Matsumoto's seminal Japanese New Wave film, Funeral Parade of Roses. Set in 1960s Tokyo's demimonde of drag bars and divas, it stars actual club dancer Pîtâ as Bar Genet's most popular drag dancer, Eddie. Gonda, the owner of the bar, promises Eddie he'll make the sweet young thing the madame of the bar and get rid of the current holder of the position, Leda. Eddie will also take Leda's place as Gonda's lover, but Leda won't be so easily overthrown. Matsumoto gilds this love triangle with psychedelic music, interviews with the actors, drugs, cartoon word balloons and avant garde short films, creating a singular document of a transformative period in Japan's culture. Funeral Parade of Roses is shown at 9 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at the Landmark Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Boulevard; University City; www.cinemastlouis.org). Tickets are $10 to $13.