Written and directed by Irishmen in Havana, Cuba, this is an outsider’s outsiders’ story, the irresistible tale of an 18-year-old wannabe-drag artiste learning to put over a song and ultimately winning over his homophobic ex-con father. It’s a little bit Billy Elliot, and a little bit Pedro Almodovar, all shot in what one character calls, "the most beautiful slum in the world."

18-year-old hairdresser Jesus (Héctor Medina) helps with the wigs of the drag performers in a glamorous (to him, anyway) Havana club, and dreams of taking the stage himself. His first performances only prove he has a lot to learn, and his progress is further disrupted when his macho dad gets out of prison and insists on staying with him (in a nice touch, he’s played by Jorge Perugorría, who starred in the groundbreaking Cuban classic Strawberry and Chocolate more than 20 years ago). Breathnach’s romanticism may be a smidgeon rose-tinted, but the movie is tender and touching and leaves you wanting to pull on your gladrags and belt out a torch song.