Queen
of the Deuce

From pre-WWII Greece to her meteoric rise through the Times Square porn circuit in the 1970s, Queen of the Deuce tells the fascinating story of Chelly Wilson, trailblazing entrepreneur and unconventional matriarch, who built an empire based on desire.

Synopsis

From the late ’60s to the mid ’80s, in the notorious Times Square area known as the Deuce, the eccentric, Greek-born Chelly Wilson built a porn cinema empire and a reputation as one of the most savvy and charismatic figures on the scene.

 

With a cigarette in hand and bags of money stashed in the corner, Chelly regularly held court in her bunkerlike apartment above the legendary 8th Avenue all-male Adonis Theatre, summoning a lively cabal of associates, entertainers and fellow poker players, with her female lovers always hovering and grandchildren often underfoot. Yet few in her circle knew of the risks she took to get there.

 

Queen of the Deuce reveals Chelly’s origins as a taboo-breaking entrepreneur and traces the fraught events that lead to her departure from Europe on the eve of war, and the unconventional trajectories of her American business ventures and personal life. With the rise of feminism, the sexual revolution and gay pride in frame, Queen of the Deuce is an alternate take on cultural history as seen through Chelly Wilson’s empowering story of survival.

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Chelly's Story

1908

Chelly Wilson is born in Thessaloniki, Greece, as Rachel Serrero, to David and Gracia Serrero, members of the local Sephardic Jewish community.

1929

Chelly marries Moise Bourla against her will. They have two children, Daniel (b. 1930) and Paulette (b. 1934).

1939

Chelly leaves Greece for New York on the Nea Hellas, the last ship travelling to America before World War II breaks out. She leaves her two children behind.

1941

Chelly creates Greece on the March, a film made of newsreel footage, in order to raise money to support the Greek war effort against the Germans.

1941

Chelly rents her first movie theater, the Squire (later renamed the Cameo), on 8th Avenue, where she initially screens foreign arthouse films.

1942

Chelly marries British-Jewish projectionist Rex Wilson. He is her second husband. She doesn’t speak English yet and he doesn’t speak Greek. They barely communicate.

1943

Chelly and Rex have a daughter, Bondi, born in New York. Her mother doesn’t tell her she has siblings in Greece from a previous marriage.

1946

Chelly travels to Greece and Palestine to bring back Paulette and Daniel. Her family reunites in America for the first time.

1951

Chelly starts her Sunday screenings for the Greek diaspora of New York, showcasing some of the most successful films produced in her homeland at the time.

1966

Chelly and Lee Pomeranz start their own company, Chellee Films, to produce soft-core adult content. Their first films are Bed of Violence and Come Ride the Wild Pink Horse.

1968

Chelly opens a Greek restaurant called The Mykonos, decorated by Oscar-winning set designer Vasilis Fotopoulos, soon to become a popular New York destination for Hollywood stars and other celebrities.

1969

Chelly starts screening hardcore adult films on weekdays. The first titles she acquires are Man and Wife and Sexual Freedom in Denmark, which premiere at the Cameo.

1976

Bondi marries porn film director Don Walters, who works for Chelly. Their wedding ceremony takes place at The Mykonos.

1994

Chelly dies in New York on Thanksgiving Day, after multiple heart attacks. She leaves behind detailed instructions for her funeral.

Team

  • Director
    Valerie Kontakos
  • Writers
    Valerie Kontakos, Despina Pavlaki
  • Co-writer
    Christos Asteriou
  • Producers
    Ed Barreveld, Valerie Kontakos, Despina Pavlaki
  • Executive Producers
    Ed Barreveld, Valerie Kontakos, Don Walters, Bondi Wilson Walters
  • Editor
    Rob Ruzic
  • Cinematographers
    Patrick McGowan, Martina Radwan
  • Original Music
    Ken Myhr
  • Animation Director / Lead Animator
    Abhilasha Dewan
  • An Exile Films and Storyline Entertainment production, in co-production with ERT, in association with Channel 8, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse and documentary Channel
  • With the participation of Canada Media Fund, Rogers Documentary Fund, Ontario Creates, with the support of the Greek Film Centre, Creative Europe Programme – MEDIA of the European Union, Jewish Story Partners, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, OMDC Film and Television Tax Credit

  • Valerie Kontakos

    Director, writer, producer

    Valerie Kontakos lives between Athens and New York. After graduating from New York University, she worked as a sound editor for the Maysles brothers, Deborah Dickson, Anita Thacher and others. In 1989 she directed her first feature documentary A Quality of Light. In 1994 she became the deputy director of the Hellenic Foundation in NYC, where she started the NYC Greek Film Festival. Her second feature, Who’s on First? (2006), aired in the US, Greece, Finland and South Korea. She founded production company Exile Films in Athens in 2007 and non-profit Exile Room, focusing on social outreach through documentary, in 2009. Queen of the Deuce is her fourth feature.

  • Ed Barreveld

    Producer

    Storyline Entertainment CEO and Emmy Award-winning producer Ed Barreveld is one of Canada’s top independent documentary film professionals. A hands-on producer with 35 years of experience in both financing and the field, Barreveld brings together Canadian and international storytellers, investors and partners on documentaries that explore underexposed places and perspectives in society and culture. Barreveld has partnered with producers and investors in Germany, Belgium, Australia, Greece, France, Chile, and the US. Storyline titles have sold internationally, screened at Tribeca, Hot Docs, IDFA and TIFF, and garnered numerous festival accolades, as well as Emmy, Gemini and Canadian Screen awards and nominations.

  • Despina Pavlaki

    Writer, producer

    Despina Pavlaki worked as a film critic and festival programmer before getting involved in production. She was the programming director of the Athens International Film Festival and the general coordinator of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. She has worked for production company Exile Films and non-profit Exile Room since 2009. Her credits include Volta (2014), the first Greek short to screen in competition at Sundance. In 2017 she designed Tell Me Your Story, the first educational program in Greece to train inmates to shoot their own short documentaries behind bars. Her latest production is Queen of the Deuce, which she also co-scripted.

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1908

Chelly Wilson is born in Thessaloniki, Greece, as Rachel Serrero, to David and Gracia Serrero, members of the local Sephardic Jewish community.

1929

Chelly marries Moise Bourla against her will. They have two children, Daniel (b. 1930) and Paulette (b. 1934).

1939

Chelly leaves Greece for New York on the Nea Hellas, the last ship travelling to America before World War II breaks out. She leaves her two children behind.

1941

Chelly creates Greece on the March, a film made of newsreel footage, in order to raise money to support the Greek war effort against the Germans.

1941

Chelly rents her first movie theater, the Squire (later renamed the Cameo), on 8th Avenue, where she initially screens foreign arthouse films.

1942

Chelly marries British-Jewish projectionist Rex Wilson. He is her second husband. She doesn’t speak English yet and he doesn’t speak Greek. They barely communicate.

1943

Chelly and Rex have a daughter, Bondi, born in New York. Her mother doesn’t tell her she has siblings in Greece from a previous marriage.

1946

Chelly travels to Greece and Palestine to bring back Paulette and Daniel. Her family reunites in America for the first time.

1951

Chelly starts her Sunday screenings for the Greek diaspora of New York, showcasing some of the most successful films produced in her homeland at the time.

1966

Chelly and Lee Pomeranz start their own company, Chellee Films, to produce soft-core adult content. Their first films are Bed of Violence and Come Ride the Wild Pink Horse.

1968

Chelly opens a Greek restaurant called The Mykonos, decorated by Oscar-winning set designer Vasilis Fotopoulos, soon to become a popular New York destination for Hollywood stars and other celebrities.

1969

Chelly starts screening hardcore adult films on weekdays. The first titles she acquires are Man and Wife and Sexual Freedom in Denmark, which premiere at the Cameo.

1976

Bondi marries porn film director Don Walters, who works for Chelly. Their wedding ceremony takes place at The Mykonos.

1994

Chelly dies in New York on Thanksgiving Day, after multiple heart attacks. She leaves behind detailed instructions for her funeral.