17.12.24, 20:30, Paris is Burning (1990)

Category is... iconic queer documentaries, as Film-Plateau presents Paris is Burning! Before the mass success of RuPaul's Drag Race and Madonna's Vogue, you learned the art of vogueing and realness in New York's underground queer clubs. Jennie Livingstone takes you inside this glamorous, frenetic world in her lauded and groundbreaking portrait of the underground Harlem ballroom scene. For seven years, Livingstone followed the lives of several AfroAmerican and Latin American queer and trans performers - including legendary drag queen Pepper LaBeija - to learn the ins and outs of ballroom culture; from the different realness categories to the importance of reading (the art of offense).

A fiery and intimate snapshot about the African-American and Latin American queer, trans and drag performers of the 1980s who would endlessly influence the ballroom and drag world. Paris is Burning is not only an authentic, joyous celebration of self-expression and the importance of community but also an impactful history lesson on how the ballroom scene offers the New York LGBTQ+ community protection from the poverty, racism, homophobia and transphobia it faces daily.

This film will be introduced by film scholar Atalya De Cock.