Tribute To The Queen! ‘The Winner Takes it All’ Director’s Cut To Screen In Honour of Maxi Shield

This weekend on May 24, an all-new directors cut of The Winner Takes it All is screening in loving honour of one of Sydney’s drag icons, the late Maxi Shield.

Hosted by Big Gay Events, the evening will be a full-blown affair, starting with welcoming drinks at Websters Lounge Bar before the premiere of The Winner Takes it All: Director’s Cut at the Dendy in Newtown. The film will be introduced by the film’s writer, director and producer James Demitri, as well as other cast members.

To continue the theme of ‘Love and Maxi’, celebrations will then continue with an exclusive afterparty at the Stonewall Newtown.

The debut of The Winner Takes it All: Director’s Cut is not just an excuse for the community to bask in raucous fun of this cult classic, but it is an opportunity for the LGBTQIA+ community to honour and remember Maxi Shield and the legacy she left behind.

The Winner Takes It All & the legacy of Maxi Shield

A veteran of the Australian drag scene, Maxi’s passing earlier this year was not just felt on Oxford St, but across the entire globe.

The world got to know Maxi better (and fell head over giant purple heels for her) as a performer on season one of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under in 2021, finishing 6th place in the competition.

But more than a television celebrity, she is remembered as a dedicated and relentless performer who brought joy and inspiration to many, many people.

“To speak about Maxi is to speak about endurance, but also about care — about someone who showed up, over and over again, even when it was hard and even when it was exhausting, because she understood that what she was doing mattered,” Star Observer Managing Editor Chloe Sargeant wrote in a tribute to Maxi.

Upon hearing of her cancer diagnosis, fans across the world helped raise over thousands for the drag star while she was in hospital in Scotland, before returning to Australia for treatment.

Upon her tragic passing on February 21 of this year, many adoring friends and fans came out to spread words of love and loss across social media.

“In all my years in this community, there has never been a time I can remember when Maxi wasn’t an iconic presence,” wrote Universal Sydney licensee Dillon Shaw.

Many who mourned the loss of Maxi expressed her as someone with extraordinary talent, endless generosity and a humour that stuck to the hearts of many.

“Maxi was a true-blue Aussie battler… She just got up and got it done,” long-time friend and fellow performer Vanity told Star Observer.

The community continued to show support and adoration with hundreds attending her funeral procession down Sydney’s Oxford St, and was also honoured at the 2026 Sydney Mardi Gras parade.

The Winner Takes it All: Director’s Cut will be premiering at the Newtown Dendy on May 24. Profits from tickets, as well as raffle tickets and any donations, will be directed to Twenty10 – a charity deeply admired by Maxi.

You can buy tickets and get more information here.

 

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