For many years, the glamorous, underground world of trans and queer Ballroom culture and its network of “Houses” was just that — underground. When the groundbreaking 1991 film Paris is Burning became a global sensation, this New York City subculture hit the international stage for the first time. The documentary provided an insider introduction to the electric energy of Ballroom as well as an understanding of the sanctuary provided through ballroom house families. For the queer community — and queer communities of color, specifically — the film was a landmark opportunity to truly see and celebrate themselves, sometimes for the very first time.
Venus Xtravaganza — an aspiring model from the House of Xtravaganza — was a rising star in the ballroom scene who dreamt of a life of beauty, serenity, and family. Tragically, Venus would never get to see her dreams realized nor her impact on an entire generation, because she was murdered just before the film’s release. Venus was 23, and her murderer was never found.
Intimate and insightful, director Kimberly Reed’s I’m Your Venus (presented by Participant and produced by Stick Figure Productions) picks up the story 34-years after Venus’ death. Haunted by unresolved questions and family trauma, Venus’s biological relatives— brothers John, Joe, and Louie Pellagatti, and her niece Jillian—enlist a legal team to find the answers that have eluded the family for decades. They press the NYPD to reopen the case, and despite warnings that their chances of finally finding closure are slim, they agree the inquiry is worth the gamble.
As the Pellagattis seek answers, they reach out to Venus’ chosen family, the venerable House of Xtravaganza, and the house mother, regal and empathetic Gisele. A superstar model and icon in her own right, Gisele decides that she and the Xtravaganzas will help the Pellagattis, noting Venus’ killing was not the last or only murder within the House of Xtravaganza and is still all too common in the trans community even today.
Attempting to learn more about Venus’ parallel world and the past she kept hidden from them, the Pellagattis delve deep into their own family’s story: replaying old scenes, reveling in small moments, contemplating their own past prejudices, and ultimately hoping to make amends for their role in Venus’ decision to seek sanctuary elsewhere, with the Xtravaganzas.
Through never-before-seen archival material, intimate vérité moments with Venus’ biological and chosen families, and raw, confessional scenes with Venus herself from Paris Is Burning and its outtakes, I’M YOUR VENUS presents a layered, deeply felt portrait about family and the true meaning of acceptance. The film reminds us that while life itself may be finite, legacy is forever: there’s always room to grow, space to celebrate, and time to correct — if not amend — the record.
“I want a car. I want to be with the man I love . . .
I want a nice home away from New York.
I want to get married in church in white . . .
I want to be a professional model behind cameras.
I want this. This is what I want and I’m going to go for it.”
-- Venus Xtravaganza, from Paris Is Burning
Kimberly Reed’s most recent film DARK MONEY was an award-winning selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, was promptly named one of Vogue’s “66 Best Documentaries of All Time,” shortlisted for an Oscar, nominated for Best Documentary of the Year by IDA and for four Critics’ Choice Awards, and won the prestigious duPont Columbia Prize for Broadcast Journalism. Her trailblazing film PRODIGAL SONS (Telluride Film Festival premiere, First Run Features, Sundance Channel), won 14 international awards and was the first documentary by a transgender filmmaker to be theatrically released in the US. She recently directed episode 2 of the four-part non/fiction series EQUAL on HBO MAX, titled “Transgender Pioneers,” and served as Executive Producer of the award-winning HBO documentary TRANSHOOD. Ms. Reed also produced/edited/wrote PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE (Zeitgeist Films), and produced THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON (Netflix).
Her work in broader artistic fields has also been acclaimed: her short story was published in the NY Times bestselling “The Moth – 50 True Stories,” and she has co/written the libretti for four operas, including AS ONE, the most frequently produced American opera in the 21st century. Her film projections for opera have been called “worthy of Fellini or Bergman” (SF Classical Voice).
She has been honored as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” Out Magazine’s “Out 100,” and received the Chicken & Egg Award.
June 6, 2024, Tribeca Festival
October 6, 2024, Hamptons International Film Festival
October 10, 2024, BFI London Film Festival
January 8, 2025, Palm Springs International Film Festival
February 13, 2025, Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival — 2025 Winner Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award
Florida Film Festival — 2025 Winner Grand Jury Award: Best Documentary Feature
Hamptons International Film Festival — 2024 Winner Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice
Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival — 2025 Winner Jury Prize: Outstanding Documentary
"“It is both a posthumous biography of the trans woman and a record of her biological and ballroom families’ attempts to honor her legacy. In chronicling the experiences of these significantly different groups, both with deep love for Venus, Reed (Dark Mon"
Hollywood Reporter
"“It was exciting, and an honor, to witness the very first in-person meeting between the Pellagattis and Gisele, the current Mother of the House of Xtravaganza,” Reed tells Rolling Stone. “The union of these two families — biological and ballroom — is what"
Rolling Stone
"Jury Statement: “In a year of extraordinary documentaries, I’m Your Venus stands out as a film of exceptional power and complexity. This work by award-winning filmmaker Kimberly Reed deals with themes such as allyship, legacy, and justice, putting a human"
Frameline Film Festival Jury Statement
