Film program

Paris Is Burning

Seven people pose for the camera with their hands in the air.
  • Cinema
  • Vivid LIVE
  • Playhouse
  • Run time: 78 minutes Subject to change
  • Seating map

United States l 1990 l English l Music Documentary | M

Made over seven years in the late 1980s, this landmark documentary depicts a New York fashion subculture, examining how the African American and Latinx Harlem drag ball community build sustenance, creativity and family.

Exploring ballroom culture – and defining and re-defining words like “house”, “mother”, “shade”, “voguing” and “realness” – Paris Is Burning offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses” in a world rampant with homophobia and transphobia, racism, AIDS and poverty.

Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens and trans women – including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza – Paris Is Burning brings it, celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence and the draw of community.

Presented by Sydney Opera House

Event details

This beautiful film is about surviving on the fringe—and looking amazing while doing it.

The Stranger

Jennie Livingston’s time capsule look of LGBT balls is an acknowledged classic, inclusively incisive in its portrait of a NYC diaspora of a marginalized community.

Filmmaker Magazine

Cast and credits

Director & Producer Jennie Livingston
Editor Jonathon Oppenheim
Cinematographer Paul Gibson
As self Dorian Corey
As self Pepper LaBeija 
As self Junior LaBeija 
As self Angie Xtravaganza 
As self Venus Xtravaganza
As self Brooke and Carmen Xtravaganza 
As self Willi Ninja
As self Paris Dupree
As self Octavia Saint Laurent

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Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Playhouse

The Playhouse is located in the north-western corner of Sydney Opera House, best accessed through the Western Foyers.

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