Documentary
25 years after Paris is Burning, we dive back into the fierce world of voguing battles in the Kiki scene of New York City, where competition between Houses demands leadership, painstaking practice, and performances on point. A film collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, we’re granted exclusive access into this high stakes world, where tough competitions act as a gateway into the daily lives of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The new generation of ballroom youth use the motto, “Not About us Without Us”. Twiggy and Sara’s insider-outsider approach to their stories breathes fresh life into the representation of a marginalized community who demand visibility and real political power.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
The Beauty President
Vanity
Fabulous
Paris Is Burning
Black Is… Black Ain’t
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
Tongues Untied
Rise Up and Shout!
Indestructible
Kelet
Being BeBe
Portrait of Jason
Check It
Love is in the Legend
Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn
Lua
Poly-Love
Swoopes
Game Face
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
SIMILAR MOVIES
The Beauty President
IMDB 6 | Mar , 2021
In 1992, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, activist Terence Alan Smith made a historic bid for president of the United States as his drag queen persona Joan Jett Blakk. Today, Smith reflects back on his seminal civil rights campaign and its place in American history.Vanity
IMDB 10 | Apr , 2022
Fabulous
IMDB 6.5 | Jun , 2019
Ninja is famous around the world for her fierce ballroom performances, but she is not as well-known in her native country of French Guyana. But a trip home to teach a workshop might change that.Paris Is Burning
IMDB 8 | Mar , 1991
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.Black Is… Black Ain’t
IMDB 5.6 | Oct , 1995
African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
IMDB 5 | Nov , 2019
Maurice Hines -- actor, director, singer, and choreographer -- navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.Tongues Untied
IMDB 6.6 | Mar , 1990
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.Rise Up and Shout!
IMDB 0 | Jul , 2007
Rise Up And Shout! tells the story of four generations of creative gay voices in Los Angeles who unite to create a theatrical showcase for gay youth on September 9, 2006. In the process, a unique community is created made up of young and old, black and white, shy and loud -- including an 83 year-old priest and an 18 year old former prostitute and poet.Indestructible
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2022
He is a sensitive boy who represses his true personality. After experiencing traumatic experiences, our protagonist begins to open to the world on a journey that made him the person who is. This is not the complete story, but shows a trajectory of overcoming and change.Kelet
IMDB 4.8 | Jan , 2020
Kelet is a twentysomething black trans woman, whose greatest dream is to be on the cover of Vogue magazine. For the Finnish-born and Manchester-raised Kelet, such models as Naomi Campbell and Iman served as role models giving her strength – and during the darkest times, kept her alive. After coming out, then 19-year-old Kelet was cut off from her family and she moved back to Finland on her own.Being BeBe
IMDB 9 | Jun , 2021
The intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer originally from Cameroon, and the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. With over a decade of unprecedented access, we observe BeBe’s struggles with celebrity, authenticity, success, and failure.Portrait of Jason
IMDB 6.5 | Sep , 1967
Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.Check It
IMDB 4.8 | Apr , 2016
Fed up with being pushed around, a group of gay and trans teens of color form a gang and fight back on the brutal streets of Washington D.C. They call their gang ‘Check it’ and this group of one-time victims of bullying, rape and abuse have turned the tables on anyone trying to hurt them. The group formed to provide its members safety in numbers and let people know that if they jump a queer kid in D.C., they may get beaten into a coma. This raw and intimate portrait follows three childhood friends as they struggle to survive and claw their way out of gang life through an unlikely avenue: fashion.Love is in the Legend
IMDB 1 | May , 2022
A documentary relating to a video of the Grand Street Ball of 1988, held by Patricia Field and the House of Field. The film explores the relationships and connections between the music and culture of the Paradise Garage with the ball culture of the mid 1980's, driven by the participants' need to belong, each working, dancing, and surviving together despite the epic sweep of larger societal conflicts of the time. They are featured in present day interviews, along side 1980's archival photography and film, and iconic music representative of the theme, bridging this piece of history to the present day by the passion that lives on.Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn
IMDB 10 | Mar , 2023
An inspiring love story about a self-described “poor, gay, black man from North Philly” on his historic run for the United States Senate. But this race is about more than taking on the political competition. It’s about taking on an entire system.Lua
IMDB 0 | Mar , 2024
Joseph Wilson meets the dance teacher fighting transphobic violence through voguing in Rio’s favelas.Poly-Love
IMDB 1 | Jan , 2016
A documentary that approaches polyamory from the intimate point of view of an Afro-American family who decided to live an authentic life without denying the option of diversity in their love and family.Swoopes
IMDB 7 | Jul , 2013
Sheryl Swoopes famously has been labeled as the female Michael Jordan, but that's only part of the story. On the court, she was nearly as dominant as Jordan, winning a national championship with Texas Tech, three Olympic gold medals, three MVP awards and four consecutive championships with the Houston Comets of the WNBA, the league she helped start. She even had a Nike shoe named after her, the Air Swoopes. Off the court, she has had a life full of transitions. She gave birth to her son, Jordan, during the inaugural season of the WNBA. Later, she divorced her high school sweetheart and became the highest-profile athlete in her sport to acknowledge she was gay. She has struggled with love, money and personal identity, but has never lost her spirit. In this portrait, you will meet someone who is not your everyday superstar, but a woman who has defied a multitude of labels.Game Face
IMDB 4.8 | Apr , 2015
Game Face shows the quest to self-realization of LGBT athletes and the acceptance in society. The film follows athletes during their coming out process, and sheds light on the obstacles LGBT sports players deal with throughout their career.Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
IMDB 8 | Dec , 2023
From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.