A screening of Sara Jordenö’s KiKi, a documentary set in the New York City ballroom circuit capturing the minute-by-minute struggles and triumphs of African-American and Latino LGBTQ communities.

In New York City, LGBTQ youth-of-colour practice a performance-based artform, Ballroom. The artform was made famous by Madonna’s music video Vogue and the documentary Paris Is Burning. Twenty-five years after these cultural touchstones, a new and very different generation of LGBTQ youth have formed an artistic activist subculture, named the Kiki Scene.

KiKi follows seven characters from the KiKi community over the course of four years. The documentary explores their preparations and spectacular performances at events known as Kiki balls. It shows their gains towards political influence and the conquering of affirming gender-expressions, whilst delving into their battles with homelessness, illness and prejudice. Each of these remarkable young people represents a unique and powerful personal story, illuminating the Kiki scene, as well as queer life in the U.S. for LGBTQ youth-of-colour as a whole.

The screening of the film will be followed by a poetry reading by Travis Alabanza.