Paris Is Burning (1991)
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.
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What critics compared Paris Is Burning to
Choreographed by Nina McNeely, the dancers krump, vogue, and waack in ecstatic abandon, their movements recalling Jennie Livingston’s radical documentary of New York’s “house” and ball culture Paris Is Burning (1990), a queer touchstone whose impact has since filtered into the larger culture.
Fawned at and pawed on, thanks to what the scientists consider to be unique properties of her skin (conjuring the essence of Venus Xtravaganza from Paris is Burning ), it becomes clear Renee has been injected with something, and the screams from other prisoners throughout the compound allows her to deduce she will be forced to face her darkest fears in order to undergo a ‘rupture.’
After their mother’s scandal-shrouded death, they now lead the House of Abrasax, a name that conjures images of the warring factions from the masterpiece documentary Paris Is Burning, in which the House of LaBeija could be counted on to do battle against the House of Chanel.