“Paris is Burning” Screening & Community Conversation

Come watch and discuss a classic film, Paris is Burning, detailing New York City’s 1980s era LGBTQ+ ballroom culture. Rival fashion “houses” compete fiercely for trophies while house mothers offer sustenance to a group of young, queer people of color in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Features voguers, drag queens, and trans women—including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza. Paris Is Burning celebrates the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.

After the movie, share your experiences with themes in the film such as community, love, friendship, and performance of class and gender roles.

Presented with Park City Film and Mountain Mediation. Small group post-film discussions facilitated by Mountain Mediation.