Paris is Burning is one of those documentaries that was really important to me as a teenager growing up. I was really into House Music and the scene just seemed so amazing and full of cool, artistic people. I’ve found it on YouTube and thought I should share it with those that might not have seen.

Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the poor, African American and Latino gay and transgendered community involved in it. Many consider Paris Is Burning to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the “Golden Age” of New York City drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, and gender in America.