Institute History
Description
In the most poignant moments of Jennie Livingston’s groundbreaking documentary Paris is Burning, Venus Xtravaganza and Octavia St. Laurent reveal their dreams. Octavia wants to be a high- fashion model; Venus would like to be wealthy, live in the country, and be loved and admired. If they were middle-class white girls, these goals might be attainable, but Octavia and Venus are male, black or Hispanic, and gay, relegated to the fringes of society.
Livingston spent years constructing this intimate portrait of New York’s subterranean transsexual/transgender community and the parties—known as balls—its members use to express themselves and forge fragile, but resilient, identities. These balls, like Paris is Burning, feature “voguing,” an energetic fusion of break dancing, gymnastics, and runway parading borrowed from fashion modeling. “You can become anything and do anything,” one participant tells us. “It’s our fantasy of being superstars.”
Paris is Burning maintains a rare balance between fly-on-the-wall objectivity and compassionate interaction with its subjects. The film shared the documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival and won multiple other awards. This new, digitally restored print, a collaboration between Sundance Institute, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the Outfest Legacy Project, restores the original 16mm aspect ratio. Special thanks to Miramax for permission to screen the film.
— BB