“Preserves in cinematic
amber a pre-'90s, pre-Giuliani New York City that looks and feels more hard and
hostile, and yet seems more innocent.”
Metro Weekly, Washington,DC
“For anyone who's ever felt
like an outsider, Paris is Burning is a reassuring reminder that someone
somewhere totally gets you.”
POV Magazine
“Livingston dives into the
ball scene of 1980s New York with an anthropologist’s eye and a big beating
heart.”
LA Times
Rosendale, New York - 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 and transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Shot between 1985 and 1989, the narrative
inter-cuts between individual stories that chronicle the experiences of the
African-American and Latino, gay and transgender subculture in a time when the
city was consumed by the ideals of wealth and glamour. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women—including
Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza—Paris Is Burning brings it,
celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of
community.
Paris is Burning was digitally remastered by the UCLA Film and
Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute and Outfest UCLA
Legacy Project. Preservation funded by Sundance Institute, Outfest and the
Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation.
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