All About Fame
by Guillaume Thomas
synopsis
As they approach 40, Kurtis—a renowned drag artist left infertile from years of physical strain—embarks on a surrogacy journey to become a parent. A deeply personal journey that demands a total reinvention, even if it means letting go of the glamorous persona that once ensured their survival.
biography
Guillaume Thomas is a visual artist, photographer, and documentary filmmaker based in Paris. A graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (2020) and the School of Visual Arts in New York (2017), he explores intimacy and the power of representation through photography, film, video, installation, sculpture, and screen printing. His work highlights the mechanisms of normative violence and the strategies of emancipation for individuals marginalized by patriarchal and capitalist systems—particularly women, children, LGBTQIA+ people, racialized individuals, neurodivergent persons, and those in precarious situations.
Guillaume’s first documentary, Life Damages the Living (2021), produced by Le Fresnoy, traces Valerie von Sobel’s journey from Nazi-occupied Budapest to Hollywood and was presented at Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin in 2022. His digital installation Ad Astra (2022), also in collaboration with Le Fresnoy, blends traditional techniques with modern tools, portraying a fluid history of representation. In 2022, his second documentary, Pinned into a Dress, featuring drag supermodel Miss Fame, premiered at the International Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival. Passionate about transformation and the reclamation of identity, Guillaume’s work gives voice to subjects who reclaim their images, embodying acts of emancipation and empowerment.