Movie/90/Paris Is Burning

• Paris Is Burning

  • About

    • Jennie Livingston's documentary about New York City's 1980s ballroom scene and the Black and Latino queer people who built its houses, competitions, and performance styles.
    • The film was released in 1990 and selected for the U.S. National Film Registry in 2016 for preservation.

  • Context

    • Its interviews and footage document ballroom participants' accounts of family, gender, race, class, and aspiration. The film's authorship and representation have also prompted debate about a white filmmaker documenting a community of color and about who receives recognition and economic benefit.
    • The film is an important source for understanding ballroom culture, but it is one documentary made from a particular perspective, not a complete account of the community.

  • Sources

    • The Criterion Collection: Paris Is Burning
    • Paris Is Burning: The Fire This Time, Michelle Parkerson, The Criterion Collection.
    • National Film Registry titles, Library of Congress.