Spider Mites of Jesus: The Dirtwoman Documentary

If you have delicate sensibilities this movie might not be for you. If you want to see “a living, breathing John Waters movie,” complete with a 300-pound drag queen and a surprising use for feces, you can’t miss it. Donnie Corker contracted spinal meningitis - which his mother pronounced Spider Mites of Jesus - as an infant in 1951. His family accepted Donnie’s cross-dressing and eccentricity, and he grew to become a drag star and an icon in his hometown of Richmond, VA. He was a flower vendor, a fund raiser, a street hustler who turned tricks everywhere, a restaurant worker, and he got the brand of Dirtwoman by defecating in the back of a police car. Yet the police often sought his help since he was effectively the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. He was also its heart. Dirtwoman was one filthy character but a generous and beloved one too. He passed away in 2017. Heaven has livened up considerably. (Florida Film Festival)