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PARIS IS BURNING
Paris is Burning (Documentary) 78 minutes
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO
My Own Private Idaho (Drama) – 104 Minutes
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCELLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. – (Comedy) – 103 minutes
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a comedy film that follows two drag queens and a transgender woman embarking on a road trip across the Australian Outback in a bus they dub “Priscilla.” As they perform for enthusiastic crowds and confront small-town prejudice, their bonds continue to grow as they engage in meaningful discussions about being their true selves.
TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING
Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez — one of the losers that evening — the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time.
RENT
Rent (Musical) – 135 minutes
Based on Pucinni’s classic opera “La Boheme,” Jonathan Larson’s revolutionary rock opera Rent tells the story of group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent in the gritty background of New York’s East Village. “Measuring their lives in love,” these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
THE CELLULIOD CLOSET
Celluloid Closet (Documentary) – 102 minutes
What “That’s Entertainment” did for movie musicals, “The Celluloid Closet” does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein (“The Times of Harvey Milk” and “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt”) and Jeffrey Friedman assemble fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s. Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors, writers and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.
