During the day, he cleans highrise windows. At night, he plays a different role, that of drag queen Lelita Petit. At the same time, the performer also campaigns for LGBTQ rights in Poznan. #dweuromaxx
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00:00 [Music]
00:11 Even when I was little, I knew I was different,
00:13 especially because I didn't meet the standards of masculinity.
00:17 When I was seven or eight years old, I asked myself,
00:19 "Why aren't there any fairy tales about princes and princes,
00:22 or princesses and princesses?
00:24 Why is there just one option?"
00:27 We met up with Marcel Lilo in Poznań in Poland.
00:30 The city is said to be queer-friendly.
00:33 Marcel defines himself as non-binary,
00:36 so neither exclusively masculine or feminine,
00:39 and accepts a range of pronouns.
00:41 She, it, he, him, her, they.
00:45 I don't really care how someone addresses me,
00:47 as long as the person is speaking to me and I get a vibe.
00:50 That's what's most important.
00:54 For the past three years, Marcel has been working at lofty heights
00:57 as an industrial window washer.
00:59 Before that, he was working on stage as a drag queen.
01:03 When theatres closed during the corona pandemic,
01:06 Marcel looked for a new job and found one on high,
01:09 with the best views in the city.
01:11 I'm happy, but I dream of spending more time on stage
01:19 rather than hanging on ropes.
01:22 Even though the job really gives me a great deal of financial freedom.
01:26 I'm no longer dependent on sponsors,
01:29 and don't need to prove I really can sing, and that I am great.
01:33 Marcel grew up in a small town in southwestern Poland.
01:40 He comes from a family of devout Catholics,
01:44 and his father had difficulty understanding his homosexuality.
01:49 My parents wanted me to have conversion therapy.
01:53 That was supposed to cure me of homosexuality.
01:57 I was 19.
01:59 It horrified me, there were no talks with me or a psychologist.
02:06 They just went straight to the priest.
02:09 Even as a child, Marcel was fascinated by all the things
02:17 feminine. He felt drawn to it.
02:20 The clothes, colours and glitter.
02:23 I wanted to have all these feminine attributes.
02:28 I always felt close to them.
02:30 I loved dressing up, even as a child.
02:33 I didn't know back then that it was drag.
02:36 Marcel, aka Lilita Petit, sings about queer existence
02:44 for the LGBTQ music project "Broketowe Dame" or "Glittering Ladies".
02:49 And Lilita appears as a drag artist at the Lokum Stonewall,
02:54 the safe space for the queer scene in Poznan.
02:57 Lilita has founded one of only four drag collectives in Poland.
03:04 It's called "The House of Utopia".
03:07 The hierarchy is such that I'm like the mother,
03:13 because I've got solid support, contacts and lots of performances.
03:16 And I can use those to open the scene for others.
03:19 Lilita is planning to appear on stage in Berlin
03:23 with her so-called daughter, Ira, from the drag collective.
03:26 But before taking to the stage, they take in the sights
03:31 and meet up with another drag queen, Magda Cukracka.
03:36 Lilita!
03:38 As free as life appears in Berlin, there's discrimination here too.
03:49 As a rule, Magda takes a taxi home after a long night
03:53 as the MC of the show at Monsters Karaoke,
03:56 a bar in one of the hipper suburbs of Berlin.
03:59 Lilita and Ira appear at the club as well.
04:03 We have a very different life in Poland.
04:06 The audience is cheering them on,
04:16 and Lilita and Ira are happy with their performances.
04:19 I'm in love! It's great!
04:24 I'm touched, but thinking about it as well.
04:29 When I hear the crowd's reaction in Berlin, and their appreciation,
04:32 then it feels as if my place is here.
04:35 I'd really like to come back again and again.
04:39 After their weekend trip, it's clearer than ever to the Polish drag queens
04:44 that Berlin is a magnet for queer people.
04:47 And LGBTQ rights are worth fighting for,
04:50 not just here, but everywhere.
04:53 (upbeat music)
04:55 Two times a dress.