Paris Is Burning
1991 · TMDB 8.0
Directed by Jennie Livingston
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
Why it matters
Jennie Livingston's portrait of Harlem ballroom culture in the late 1980s, where houses, mothers and realness are all forms of labour. The film's subjects narrate their own ambitions with a precision that shames most fiction.
- Runtime
- 78 min
- Released
- 1991-03-13
- Studio
- Off White Productions
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- TMDB score
- 8.0
KinoChain appearances
Chains through this film
Where this title sits in a journey — and where cinema takes you next.
Connected films
Where this film leads
Linked through chains, directors and neighbouring cinema.
London
Previous in chain · The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It
The Watermelon Woman
Next in chain · The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It
Working Girls
Also in “The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It”
Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
Also in “The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It”
The Sessions
Also in “The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It”
Tangerine
Also in “The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It”
Somers Town
Also in “The Long Way Home, and Who Pays For It”
The Imitation Game
Related by genre
Dumb Money
Related by genre
Original Sin
Related by genre
People
Key contributors
Topics