Local sash in LGBT film fest

NewsObserver.com – By Craig D. Lindsey, Staff Writer

Next weekend, it will be Coti Collins’ chance to shine — on the big screen, that is.

The 42-year-old Raleigh resident and professional female impersonator stars in “Pageant,” one of the films that will be screening at the 13th annual North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, which will begin Thursday at the Carolina Theatre in Durham.

The movie follows Collins (real name: David Lowman) and four other drag entertainers as they prepare for and compete in the 2006 Miss Gay America Pageant in Memphis. (We won’t give away how Collins does, but we will say he turns it out with a rousing Judy Garland re-creation.)