The Village Is Burning... and So On

Paris Is Burning is a 1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed over a period of seven years from the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it. Critics consider the film to be an invaluable documentary chronicling the end of the “Golden Age” of the New York City ballroom scene, and a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender and sexuality in America. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. It has since been ranked by numerous publications as one of the greatest documentary films of all time.