I'M YOUR VENUS

In 1988, Venus Xtravaganza, protagonist of the film Paris Is Burning (1990), was found murdered in a hotel room, and the police quickly closed the case without further investigation. Today, her three brothers are campaigning to reopen the criminal case, update her gravestone, and designate her apartment as a historic site.

The director, who was herself in transition in the 1990s, was deeply affected by Venus’s personality, calling her “a fierce role model.” She would constantly repeat to herself, “Don’t let what happened to Venus happen to you.” Here, she pays tribute to families, both biological and chosen, to houses as safe spaces, and to voguing as a vital energy. Let us join her in celebrating trans lives and fighting tirelessly against their murders.