Paris is Burning | Vivid LIVE Film

Made over seven years in the late 1980s, this landmark documentary depicts a New York fashion subculture, examining how the African American and Latinx Harlem drag ball community build sustenance, creativity, and family.

Exploring ballroom culture – and defining and re-defining words like “house,” “mother,” “shade” “voguing” and “Realness” – Paris Is Burning offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses” in a world rampant with homophobia and transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty.

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.

Classification M | United States l 1990 l English l Music Documentary