Underplayed Gems

Paris Is Burning (1990)

Paris Is Burning poster
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
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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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)

More like this

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