Not to put myself down, but I think I’m just kind of dumb,” says Vera Drew, the droll, intelligent director-star of The People’s Joker. I let her explain. Back when she was making her film – a frantically funny, deeply personal parody of DC Comics’ Batman universe, which re-imagines the Clown Prince of Crime as a burgeoning alternative comedian who realises she’s transgender – it never occurred to her what the reaction would be.
“When I was making this thing, I was never prepared for the level of visibility it would get,” says Drew. “I thought I would maybe screen it like once, in a warehouse or party or something, and all my friends would go, ‘Thanks for reminding us how traumatised you are and how many fetishes you have. Thanks, Vera.’”
