Arts & Entertainment
‘Paris’ will ‘burn’ again, now with unseen footage
Fans of “Paris is Burning” are about to discover a whole new treasure trove of footage from the seminal 1990 documentary, thanks to Criterion.
The Criterion Collection, which focuses on licensing “important classic and contemporary films,” announced its roster of new releases for February 2020, and one of them will be none other than the now iconic documentary about New York’s underground ballroom culture. It will get the full Criterion treatment, which includes not only a restoration, but about an hour of previously unseen footage.
“Paris is Burning” chronicles the mid-to-late 1980s ball culture in New York City led by black and brown gay and transgender communities. The film includes extensive interviews from trans women such as Venus Xtravaganza – who was murdered before the film was finished – and Octavia St. Laurent. It also introduced now-familiar slang like “reading” and “shade” into the public consciousness, courtesy of Dorian Corey.
On the disc will be a new 2K digital restoration of the project, executed by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Sundance Institute, and Outfest UCLA Legacy Project and overseen by original director Jennie Livingston. This new version saw a limited release in theaters this past summer and is now set to hit Blu-ray in the new Criterion edition.
The newly-released footage is eagerly awaited by members of the ballroom community, who have long been pressuring Livingston to release it.
Besides the restoration and the previously unseen material, the disc will come with several other bonus features. An audio commentary will be included, as well as a conversation between Livingston, filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris, and ball community members Sol Pendavis and Freddie Pendavis – both of whom were featured in the original film.
A 1991 episode of “The Joan Rivers Show,” which featured Livingston and ball community members Corey, Pepper LaBeija, Freddie Pendavis, and Willi Ninja will also be included.
“Paris is Burning” was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2016 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The new Criterion edition will be available February 25, 2020.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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