PARIS IS BURNING - 35th Anniversary Screening

Join United Palace during its ‘Season of Community’ on Saturday, June 7, for a very special 35^th Anniversary presentation of PARIS IS BURNING – with an introduction by star Junior LaBeija, a post-screening performance by The Legendary International House of Garçon, music by DJ Ken Terry, and a book signing with Michael Roberson, author of Ballroom: A History, A Movement, A Celebration.

 

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is “throwing shade”? This landmark film provides a vibrant snapshot of New York City in the 1980s through the eyes of the African American and Latinx Harlem ball scene. Produced 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, PARIS IS BURNING immortalizes the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.

 

Upon its theatrical World Premiere at NewFest in 1990, PARIS IS BURNING instantly scorched the screen, laying the groundwork to become one of the most celebrated and beloved documentaries ever made. Filmmaker Jennie Livingston’s brazen, compassionate lens introduced the world to an ensemble of unforgettable artists and activists whose very existence is a battle cry to live a life of honesty, courage, and pride. Said Livingston to the NY Times in 2019, “I stepped into a community where people were geniuses at becoming themselves, geniuses at using words and far beyond brilliant at using dance forms to express themselves. Their self-invention was such a complex cultural commentary. It questioned what America is and proved the political power of creating identity.”

 

Film critic and historian A.O. Scott considers PARIS IS BURNING one of the 10 greatest films of all time, and in a 2017 New York Times piece titled “12 Movies to See Before You Turn 13,” Wesley Morris states that seeing PARIS IS BURNING “as soon as possible means you can spend the rest of your life having its sense of humanity amuse, surprise, and devastate you, over and over.” 

 

Junior LaBeija (James Goode Jr.) is the narrator of the legendary balls featured in PARIS IS BURNING and is a member of the iconic House of LaBeija, founded by Crystal and Lottie LaBeija in 1972. Junior joined the house in 1974 and became the first commentator of ballroom – creating history.

 

The Legendary International House of Garçon is an international organization founded on the principles of fraternity, education advocacy, and professional growth. “The Garçons” exercise these principles through the arena of ballroom while encouraging its members to be community-engaged LGBTQ and Cis-Gender adults.

 

DJ Ken Terry is a native New Yorker who’s held residencies all over NYC (Octagon, Warehouse, Mars, Roxy), Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Italy, London, Germany, and the UK. He is known throughout the ballroom community for DJing mini-balls hosted by Harmonica Sunbeam.

 

Michael Roberson is a multifaceted figure in the LGBTQ+ community and holds academic positions at The New School University and Union Theological Seminary in NYC. His new book Ballroom: A History, A Movement, A Celebration will be published in June by Running Press.

 

United Palace: The history of the United Palace begins in 1930 when it opened as one of five Loew’s “Wonder Theatres,” premiere vaudeville and movie houses located in four boroughs and New Jersey. The outrageously ornate architecture was designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb (James Earl Jones Theater, the former Ziegfeld Theatre) and decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (Waldorf Astoria, the original Roxy Theater).  Noted architecture critic David Dunlap described the ornate interior as “Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco.”  With nearly 3,400 seats the United Palace is Manhattan’s 4th largest theatre. It hosts concerts (Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Bad Bunny, Wilco), TV and film shoots (ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, JOHN WICK 3), movie premieres (HALFTIME, IN THE HEIGHTS, HIGH STRUNG - FREE DANCE), and other corporate and community events. The in-house selection of state-of-the-art technology updates the 1930 opulence for 21st century audiences.

 

PARIS IS BURNING
United States | 1990 | 77 minutes | Color | Stereo | 1.37:1 aspect ratio | Format: DCP

FEATURING:

Dorian Corey - Mother of the House of Corey
Pepper LaBeija - Mother of the House of LaBeija
Junior LaBeija - Of the House of LaBeija
Angie Xtravaganza - Mother of the House of Xtravaganza Venus Xtravaganza - Of the House of Xtravaganza
Brooke and Carmen Xtravaganza - Of the House of Xtravaganza Freddie, Sol, and Kim Pendavis - Of the House of Pendavis

Willi Ninja - Mother of the House of Ninja
Paris Dupree - Mother of the House of Dupree
Octavia Saint Laurent - Supermodel of the World
And all of the legendary children and upcoming legends . . .

CREW:

Produced and directed by Jennie Livingston Edited by Jonathan Oppenheim Cinematography by Paul Gibson Co-producer: Barry Swimar

Associate producers: Claire Goodman, Meg McLagan Executive producers: Davis Lacy, Nigel Finch

RESTORATION INFORMATION:

PARIS IS BURNING was digitally remastered by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute and Outfest UCLA Legacy Project. Preservation was funded by Sundance Institute, Outfest, and the Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation.

PARTIALLY FUNDED BY:

National Endowment for the Arts • Jerome Foundation • New York State Council on the Arts • New York Foundation for the Arts • Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media • Edelman Family Fund • Art Matters, Inc. • BBC Television

 

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