Kiki

Twenty-five years after Paris is Burning, the 1991 Teddy Award-winning film that brought Berlinale audiences closer to New York’s ballroom scene, Kiki provides an insight into the world of today’s young black LGBT community, by taking a look at the balls where participants of voguing competitions compete for trophies, and by listening to proponents talking about their dreams and their lives. In contrast to the time when Paris is Burning was made, these balls are no longer born of a subculture but are instead organised by queer youth welfare organisations. The enlightened manner in which the young people discuss gender-political questions today and how naturally they use terms such as heteronormativity and gender deconstruction is striking. The city, the social structures and the gender-political consciousness may have changed since the 1980s but what remains is the desire for acceptance and a safe place to celebrate one’s individuality. Even if coming out would seem to be easier today for some of the protagonists and same-sex marriages are now legalised in the US, co-writer Twiggy Pucci Garçon puts it straight: “There is so much left to fight for.”

details

  • Runtime

    95 min
  • Country

    Sweden, United States
  • Year of Presentation

    2016
  • Year of Production

    2016
  • Director

    Sara Jordenö
  • Cast

    Takima Coombs, Loretta Coombs, Aisha Diori, Twiggy Pucci Garçon
  • Production Company

    Story AB
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Documentary Film
  • Teddy Award Winner

    Best Documentary/ Essay Film

Biography Sara Jordenö

Born in Umeå, Sweden in 1974, she is a visual artist and documentary filmmaker whose work has regularly featured at international festivals, including DIAMOND PEOPLE, a long-term study of a diamond mine in the north of Sweden.
She has been collaborating with Twiggy Pucci Garçon since 2012. KIKI is her first feature- length documentary. She currently lives and works in New York and Gothenburg.

Filmography Sara Jordenö

2001 Videoactive | 2004 The Pool