Synopsis
After ten years away, Lasseindra Ninja, global voguing icon, returns to her homeland of French Guiana in order to give a master class to young dancers. She transmits to them the self-affirming state of mind and attitude inherent in her dance form, sharing tools to help them resist the hostility of the world around them. Invented in the underground clubs of New York in the 1980s, voguing created a space in which Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities could express themselves in a safe space through balls. A glimpse of self-liberation and freedom of expression through the body.
A word from Tënk
“Be more visible!” Lasseindra tells three teenagers who are wondering how to create a gay community for themselves in French Guiana. But being visible is frightening, and for good reason, since it can be dangerous. But what else can they do? It’s also the advice she gives to all of the young students at her masterclass. Voguing is about attracting attention, making a dramatic entrance, being desired, and behaving like someone who is important. It wrong-foots the image society has of Black, queer, gay, or underclass people and their bodies, that are often discriminated against, mistreated, and rejected. These are the bodies that the French-Guianese director Audrey Jean-Baptiste gets to express themselves in her film – these teenagers’ bodies that unfold, Lasseindra’s body as she remembers the culture she was forced to flee in order to become what she is – a rough, tough, fabulous woman!
Lysa Heurtier Manzanares
Filmmaker
Bonus
Interview with filmmaker Audrey-Jean Baptiste
