CinéWilde members speak before the screening of ‘Party Girl’ in July 2023. The queer film series marks 10 years this month. (Photo by Rich Lopez)

Every month, CinéWilde presents a film screening that speaks to all aspects of queer culture. Recent screenings have included Party Girl with Parker Posey, the landmark mainstream drag film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar and Frida starring Salma Hayek about the legendary queer artist Frida Kahlo.

This month’s screening will serve as the 10th anniversary of the film series.

On Jan. 19, CinéWilde will go back to where it all started by screening the documentary Paris is Burning which was the organization’s first presentation a decade ago. DR Hanson was one of the group’s founding members.

“Film was one of my first loves so producing a LGBTQ film series was a dream come true! One thing I wanted to do a little differently with this series was showcase our LGBTQ artists who create cinema,” Hanson said in an email. “I wanted the reason we chose a film was not because it had a queer character or a queer storyline but because a queer artist was in the cast or crew. You show me a queer sound mixer and I’ll show their film at CinéWilde.”

Paris is Burning, released in 1990, chronicles ball culture of from the 1980s in New York City.

Surrounding the film will be pre- and post-show events.

From CinéWilde:

We’ll have a Q&A before the film with original members of CinéWilde to reflect on and share our decade-long story.

For our post-show event, we are partnering with The Imperial Kiki House of Nike to highlight and showcase Dallas’ POPPING Ball Culture at our “Everyone Walks” Community Ball hosted by Chris Walker! Anyone can join and participate in these categories:

– Runway: Slip into something sexy or high fashion and walk the runway until Gucci calls you to Milan.

– Footwear: These boots were made for winning! Or these heels are. Or these chanclas. Showoff whatever footwear feels right, just sell the garment darling!

– Performance: Vogue the house down Mama! Use those Hands, that Duckwalk, that Catwalk, that floor, and your spins and dips to walk away with this trophy!

– Best Dressed: Diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend, they’re YOUR best friend. Bling out like a diamond and blind your way to the top.

“My time working as a theatre artist taught me that it’s not enough to just present a story, you have to help the audience translate the story into their real lives. So, I came up with the Three Es that has guided CinéWilde from the very beginning: education, entertainment and engagement,” Hanson added. “At a CinéWilde screening you’ll learn about a local queer artist, activist, or organization that compliments the film, our film will entertain you, and then after the screening we try to create some type of event that engages our audience with ideas or themes from the film.”

CinéWilde screenings are held at the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or in advance (recommended) here.

Watch the trailer for Paris is Burning below:

–Rich Lopez