Paris Is Burning

Paris Is Burning is a documentary about the drag-ball scene in Harlem, New York, in the late 1980s. Its subject is the network of "houses": groups that function like street gangs or extended families, each led by a mother who guides and looks after her children, most of them Black and Latino gay men, drag queens and trans women. The houses meet at balls, where they compete in categories and vie for trophies. The film follows several of these figures through their daily lives, showing the discrimination and poverty they face and the community and recognition they find at night. Made over roughly seven years, it also captures the moment the wider culture began to take notice of the scene.

Jennie Livingston directed and produced the film, her first feature, with Barry Swimar as co-producer. Those appearing as themselves include Pepper LaBeija, Octavia St. Laurent, Venus Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey, Willi Ninja and Paris Dupree, among a credited cast of 25 and a crew of 56. It runs 78 minutes.

The film was released in March 1991 and took about 4 million dollars worldwide, a strong result for a documentary. On IMDb it holds 8.2 out of 10 from more than 17,000 votes, and on TMDB 8 out of 10 from several hundred. A critics' rating of 7.9 out of 10 from 63 reviews places it near the audience scores rather than clearly apart from them.