"Kiki" Whisks You Behind The Scenes of Harlem Drag Ball

If the words Paris Is Burning don’t automatically send your wrists flicking, legs swishing, or face twisting then please politely exit stage right to your nearest local library, pick up a copy of the seminal drag ball documentary, and then keep reading. For those of you already wrapped up in LaBeija, you’ll want to peep this trailer for the documentary Kiki – a compassionate check-in on the contemporary state of voguing that centers on a diverse community of queer performers in the Harlem ball scene. This trailer provides a glimpse of the hugely talented group practicing – nay slaying – on the Christopher Street Pier, creating a makeshift home to express their talents and personal experiences to audiences and to one another, as well as their commentary on society's discriminatory attitude towards the different identities that the citizens of the scene inhabit. Check it out below.

Having already seen this exceptional, energetic glimpse behind the velvet curtain (full disclosure: I work with an LGBT film festival which showcased the film last summer) I can attest to the inspirational dazzle and real life razzle on display. While much of the documentary focuses on the first-person perspectives within this tightknit scene, the film understands how integrally tied those expressions are to their identities; as the cast is near-exclusively populated with performers of color just getting their starts in New York City, their hot takes pronounce themselves as deeply distinct, exuberantly expressed reflections of day-to-day life for marginalized queer youth in a modern American city. Kiki hits Los Angeles and New York theaters this weekend, and can already be viewed on VOD - all easy avenues for supporting LGBT filmmakers, their stories, and their fundamental human rights.