This summer, Karl Sanchez takes us on a trip. Better known as Nicky Doll, whom he embodies on stage as a drag queen, he invites us to discover the world from a different perspective through a brand new documentary series on France 5. His bet? Exploring the planet through the prism of genre and drag. In Nicky’s travelsin four 52-minute episodes broadcast from 9 p.m. this Tuesday, our guide travels to Japan, Mexico, India and Greece to meet queer people and cultures that play with the codes of feminine and masculine .
“With this program, I wanted to allow people who do not necessarily have the opportunity to share their point of view or their experience to be able to engage directly with our audience,” he explained during a conference. press in June. In India, he meets an activist who fights to support her small community of trans women. In Mexico, he meets Kika, from the traditional “muxe” community, considered in the country as a third gender.
“Being queer does not mean the same thing everywhere,” says Karl Sanchez. There are people more hurt than others, some on the contrary are more celebrated. There are also those who deal with wounds and trauma with much more joy and positivity than we do. »
“We can also learn from others”
In each of the episodes, we accompany Karl Sanchez through these moving encounters, all of which question our way of being. Artist, student, wrestler or drag-queen… The people he meets share their experiences and entrust snippets of life that are sometimes dramatic, sometimes funny. “Each testimony brings a different angle, continues Karl Sanchez. In France, a vaguely privileged Western country, it is important to realize that our definition of things is not necessarily a general truth. That we can also learn from others. An ode to curiosity, acceptance and open-mindedness.
By inviting the question of gender into the travel documentary, the program also contributes to a better representation of LGBT+ people on television. “We see what is happening in the United States and around the world regarding LGBT rights [remis en cause], particularly with regard to the notions of transidentity or non-binarity. We have seen in history that it was easy to take two steps forward and five back, deplores Karl Sanchez. This show is my contribution to my generation, to try to counter human stupidity. I bring arguments that I hope can end up on the table at Christmas when a slightly drunk uncle starts talking bullshit. »
“Human, laughter, performance”
Nicky’s travels also breathes new life into France 5’s escapist programs and thus provides an unprecedented perspective on countries covered time and time again in the documentary genre. “We rediscover them under a different prism and a formidable gaze, estimates Xavier Grimault, deputy director of the “sciences and discoveries” pole of France Télévisions. There is both emotion, show but also Karl’s personality and his empathy with all the people he meets. »
Karl Sanchez goes to meet local drag queens, some of whom are real stars. The opportunity to discuss with them their art, their daily life, but also to give way to the show. “Besides that there was the human, the laughter, the performance. You will see me perform in languages I don’t speak! “, he laughs. You’ll see Nicky Doll doing a lip sync to a song from a Bollywood movie or going wild with Lolita Banana in Mexico City.
“Thanks to this project I can celebrate the culture of others because you see me sharing the stage with a queen who invites me into her culture. I also discover my art from other angles. So it’s not just a show about queer people, about gender or performance, but also about drag and what it means to others, ”notes Karl Sanchez.