San Francisco drag queen Panda Dulce, who faced a violent disruption during a 2022 Drag Queen Story Hour event, is making waves with her new short film, which depicts the ordeal she experienced.
The film, titled “After What Happened at the Library,” has its West Coast premiere at the SFFILM Festival this evening, showcasing her resilience in the face of adversity.
SFist first encountered Panda Dulce during a visit to Drag Queen Story Hour back in 2017, at a time when right-wing media unfairly targeted these events with accusations of taxpayer funding—claims that were unequivocally false.
Drag Queen Story Hour, founded by San Francisco writer Michelle Tea, has since garnered national recognition and spread to various cities across the United States.
However, a specific incident at the San Lorenzo Library in 2022 became a focal point of violence when Proud Boys stormed the event, hurling homophobic and transphobic slurs while displaying white power symbols.
Despite the chaos and fear inflicted upon the children present, Panda Dulce, whose real name is Kyle Casey Chu, bravely chose to return to the reading area to complete the story-hour session.
Following this traumatic event, Chu collaborated to co-write and star in a 15-minute film that highlights the aftermath of that day.
“After What Happened at the Library” serves as a fictionalized retelling of the horrific incident and the ensuing experiences of a drag queen as they cope with the fallout during an interview with a seemingly friendly media figure.
The film has already received acclaim, winning a Special Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival, and is set to screen again at CAAMFest on May 9.
In her reflections, Panda Dulce emphasizes the lack of accountability and justice surrounding that event.
“I could talk about the details and how the authorities failed to exact consequences for this incident,” she states.
She notes that no crime report was filed, with authorities claiming jurisdiction issues and stating it didn’t meet the qualifications as a hate crime—despite being eligible for hate crime enhancements.
The culprits who instigated the disruption remain unidentified and free from repercussions.
However, Panda Dulce’s film aims to address larger themes beyond the specific incident.
“In the age of social media, trauma is packaged for mass consumption, and public victims are often forced to shoulder a heavier burden,” she explains.
The pressures she encountered from the media following the incident were overwhelming.
“Many journalists pressured me to relive every excruciating detail of the incident, even when I was adamant about not doing so,” Chu recalls.
When stories finally aired, she found that many journalists sought to distill her experiences into mere soundbites, further alienating her from her own narrative.
Chu expresses disgust at how her story was manipulated to fit a preconceived media formula, which often contradicted her beliefs, particularly regarding calls for expanded public safety measures.
She had hoped to share her return to the reading room as a message of resilience meant to inspire queer activism, but this detail was typically omitted by reporters.
Experiencing such public trauma and then watching that narrative be misrepresented felt deeply disorienting.
Chu also points out how some journalists sought to frame her identity and decisions in ways that spoke to their own agendas.
This dissonance left her feeling exploited by the media, especially since no legal actions were being taken and the event was instead seized as fodder for someone else’s story.
“After the incident, my inbox overflowed with gushing praise, death threats, love letters, trauma dumps, and transphobic threats,” she notes.
People who attended drag shows expressed a desire to take pictures with her, while Chu recognized the unsettling concept of ‘dark celebrity’ that often emerges from situations like hers.
The film explores the phenomenon of public victims navigating their identities in a society ever-inclined to consume and sensationalize news through social platforms.
Chu anticipates that such dynamics will only proliferate as people engage with news cycles that can quickly wash away nuanced stories, yet permanently affect those involved.
“Even the smallest blip on your newsfeed might wash away with the next news cycle, but it will stick with that person for the rest of their lives,” she adds thoughtfully.
In addition to her accomplishments in film, Panda Dulce is making strides in the literary world.
Her recently published young adult novel, “The Queen Bees of Tybee County,” has already garnered an American Booksellers Association’s Indies Introduce Kids award.
Furthermore, she is set to release a picture book called “What Kind of Queen?” focusing on the life of San Francisco drag legend Jose Sarria, expected to be published in 2026.
Panda Dulce will also star in another short film titled “Betty,” which revolves around San Francisco’s all-Asian drag troupe, the Rice Rockettes, scheduled to premiere at NewFest Pride in NYC on June 1, 2025.
For those wishing to catch Chu’s work, she will have book signings for “The Queen Bees of Tybee County” at Castro’s Fabulosa Books on May 1 and at SF’s Books, Inc. on June 21.
“After What Happened at the Library” screens at the Marina Theatre as part of SFFILM’s short film collection “Under Precarious Circumstances” on Wednesday, May 23, at 5:45 PM, with tickets priced at $21.50.
image source from：https://sfist.com/2025/04/23/sffilm-festival-film-tonight-relives-when-drag-queen-story-hour-got-invaded-by-the-proud-boys/
