Pepper LaBeija

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.

Trans people were at the forefront of the 1969 uprising at Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn, but their stories have not always been central in film representations of LGBT life in the city. T.V. Transvestite captures a fierce House of LaBeija Ball thrown at a Harlem Bingo Hall. Considered “lost” and not screened in public for over two decades, the film shows legends Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Sugar in the period before voguing and the advent of AIDS. A stirring example of how queer focused and produced film has long flourished in NYC.

It’s the resilience and love that keeps this community marching to the beat of its own drum; each generation redefining what it means to be queer and to be seen.

An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.

A quickfire portrait of the New York City ballroom scene in the ‘80s.

The icons from the "Harlem Drag Balls" are influencing the biggest stars in pop culture for decades and they are telling their untold stories of their time. The creative lifestyle, fierceness and fabulousness, is the ultimate challenge in fashion, on the runway and dance floor for recognition and fame. Wolfgang Busch is capturing the creative way society's disenfranchised express themselves through movement and creativity.

In 1967, New York City is host to the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant. This documentary takes a look behind the scenes, transporting the viewer into rehearsals and dressing rooms as the drag queen subculture prepares for this big national beauty contest. Jack/Sabrina is the mistress of ceremonies, and their protégé, Miss Harlow, is in the competition. But, as the pageant approaches, the glamorous contestants veer from camaraderie to tension.