Felix Zilles Perels

He stares at his trembling hand, as if in a daze. This short film ends as abruptly as it begins.

Felix Zilles-Perel’s work Jeden Tag [Every Day] shows the viewer the intersection between two coexisting worlds. On the one hand, the inconspicuous world of the middle-class living room we find ourselves in. On the other, the glamorous world of the stage to which Willi Geloneck – former dancer and leader of a drag show – transports us. He is the protagonist of both worlds. The film’s setting recalls an interview situation. What was intended to be a conversation increasingly becomes a kind of performance of Geloneck’s memories. He is overcome by nostalgia. The song that plays on the soundtrack sets the tempo for the drama. Together, they build to a noisy crescendo that seems at odds with the conservative living room. We are granted intimate insights into the past. Geloneck relives the performance of drag artist George Preuße, alias Mary, and seems to find himself reflected in both Mary and the lyrics of the text. It is almost as if he would merge with her entirely. He gesticulates wildly, throws an imaginary stool, and draws patterns in the air. His conversation partner initially serves as an anchor in the here and now, but it soon becomes clear that the primal violence of memory is too much for anyone to withstand. The title of the song, »The Aging Star,« plays on the deterioration of the body which sets in with age; yet the work confronts the viewer with a fountain of youth that transcends our preconceptions about age. Lipstick returns the faded color to his lips; a feather boa conceals the wrinkles on his neck. Anybody can be anything – you can even young again. A homage to drag artists, who don’t allow aging to stop them from living the life of a star. (Marie Hunanyan)