Paris Is Burning (1990)

Directed by

Jennie Livingston

Genre

documentary film, LGBTQ-related film, transgender film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 11m

Rated

R

Rating

8.0 of 10 from 550 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary follows members of New York City's ballroom scene in the 1980s. It focuses on African American and Latino gay and transgender people who compete in drag balls and create their own families and communities.

observationalpoignantlivelyvibrantcelebratoryintimateeye-opening

What happens

Paris Is Burning is a 1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed over a period of seven years from the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it. Critics consider the film to be an invaluable documentary chronicling the end of the “Golden Age” of the New York City ballroom scene, and a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender and sexuality in America. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. It has since been ranked by numerous publications as one of the greatest documentary films of all time. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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