Paris Is Burning
Having a ball… Wish you were here
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade?This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene.Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty.
- Director
- Jennie Livingston
- Signature
- Craft · Tension · Drama
- Worldwide
- $4M
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
The Nutevio profile
Movie DNA
How Paris Is Burning actually feels to watch, measured on the twelve traits our editors track across every Nutevio title.
Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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The numbers
Box Office & Release
Paris Is Burning returned 7.8× its budget worldwide.
- Budget
- $500,000
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $4M
- Release date
- Mar 13, 1991
- Runtime
- 1h 18m
- MPAA rating
- —
- Language
- English
- Country
- United States of America
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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