The Filthiest People Alive

Sextia N'Eight is an alternative drag performer and artist in Baltimore. N'Eight's drag includes sticking syringes through her cheeks, stapling herself until she bleeds, and eating dead rats. Outside of drag, she works as a mortician and taxidermist. Her drag incorporates and confronts much of the death she sees in her line of work, and evokes many difficult experiences she had growing up in Baltimore. Two years ago, N'Eight’s mother died of cancer, and she is forced to face the reality that despite her celebration of filth, death, and rot, she is not immune to life and death's inevitable sufferings.

Directed by Thomas Hedges, The Filthiest People Alive leans on a strong ensemble — Sextia Neight, Hollow Eve, Bambi Galore — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2021.