Institute History
Description
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.
It’s easy to fall in love with the underground dancing in Kiki, while the backbone showcases the House family structures, thereby allowing community members to flourish. Inspiring leadership, today’s Kiki scene is made up of strong relationships and unbelievable resilience, which fill this frank and frenetic film with great hope. Kiki continues traditions of the past while defiantly rooting itself in today’s politics, style, and language.