Performing troupes come and go but social justice with sequins never truly goes out of style. Dzi Croquettes tells the tale of the rise and fall of Brazil’s theater group that revolutionized queer performance art in the context of the political, social and cultural climate of Brazil in the 1970s.

This colorful documentary uncovers the livelihood of Dzi Croquettes, a Brazilian drag troupe loosely based on San Francisco’s The Cockettes. In order to assert the merits of individualism, nonconformity and the arts, the fully sequined, all-male cabaret Dzi Croquettes formed in the early 1970s in Brazil as a response to the military dictatorship’s violence and censorship.

The group of thirteen stage performers embodied masculinity and femininity in ways that had never before been seen; they were not female impersonators yet refused to call themselves men, and this sexual ambiguity quickly earned the adoration of men and women, gay and straight.

With tantalizing archival footage, directors Tatiana Issa and Raphael Alvarez lead viewers through the glamorous years of Dzi Croquettes — including the group’s rise to fame in Paris thanks to Liza Minelli — and how drugs and incessant bickering led to its demise. This vibrant tribute is a celebration of the fabulous troupe that captivated audiences and revolutionized gender expression. — ALEX CHOUSA