The Fabulous Flag Sisters - synopsis of documentary film

It's Italy in the turbulent 1970s and three men in drag are giving the world's most Catholic nation something to smile about. They were Le Sorelle Bandiera or ‘The Flag Sisters’ and they became an overnight sensation. Telling a nation to "Shove off!", their outrageous antics brought joy to millions. They inspired devotion. They were high flying and adored. They graced the covers of magazines, made countless TV appearances, several movies (one of which was banned) and toured widely, with the paparazzi constantly snapping at their high heels.

Out of drag, they were Tito Leduc, Neil Hansen and Mauro Bronchi - a Mexican, an Australian and an Italian. They starred with Roberto Benigni, Isabella Rossellini, Renzo Arbore and fratemised with the likes of Anita Ekberg, Ursula Andress and Andy Warhol. Their fame came at a time of tremendous social and political unrest. There were protests in the streets, feminists were challenging traditional gender roles and gay activists campaigning for a sexual revolution. The Vatican was fighting to retain moral high ground and the Red Brigades were unleashing terror. These turbulent times became known as Italy's ‘Years of Lead’.

Thirty years on, The Flag Sisters live on, their clips are regularly played on television, their music on radio and their personas imitated. Why did Italians embrace them so warmly, and why are they still adored today? This is an outrageously entertaining expose of the life and times of THE FABULOUS FLAG SISTERS – and of a society on the verge of a nervous breakdown.