The claymation short film Tales From the Powder Room follows Lola, a burnt-out drag queen, as she reflects on her life. Lola is brash and rough, yet glittery and refined, and the vibrant claymation style conveys the beauty and the chaos of her memories.

Subtle use of props reveals character, such as the wine glass Lola uses to draw on her eyebrows or the wig and jewellery beside her chair. Animation allows filmmaker Darren Burgess to exaggerate details of Lola’s story, like her flying through the air when she’s kicked out of home.

The short won Best Film at the Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival in 2002 and was screened at the Annecy International Film Festival in 2003. It exemplifies the use of animation to explore personal narrative and the performative aspects of identity in contemporary queer culture.