Winner of Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Berlin’s Teddy Award, this iconic documentary’s celebration of queer expression during the height of AIDS pushed the underground into the mainstream.

The Bronx drag ball scene got its moment in the spotlight thanks to Paris is Burning, the groundbreaking documentary that influenced everyone from Madonna to RuPaul and the world’s best designers. Provocative and entertaining, this film weaves issues of race, class and identity through the transformative power of dance and fashion that liberated a generation of queer people of colour at a time where political, social and racial homophobia was widely accepted.

With personalities as outrageous as the stunning costumes they wear on the runways, Jennie Livingson’s Paris is Burning captured lightning in a bottle and built a legacy that spanned across the globe for over 25 years. This phenomenon of a documentary can truly be hailed a style-maker.

"Style is the weapon of these self-styled queens, their consorts and their entourages. Style is all-pervasive in speech, vocabulary, manner, dress and attitude." – New York Times