''How Do I Look'' is a 2006 American

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by

Wolfgang Busch Wolfgang Busch is a documentary filmmaker, director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. He directed and produced the 2006 documentary '' How Do I Look'' about the Harlem ballroom scene. He is the founder of Art from the Heart Films, which pr ...

. The film chronicles

ball culture The Ballroom scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture. The scene traces its origins to the drag balls of the mid-19th century United State ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

over a ten-year period.

Overview

Wolfgang Busch began interviewing subjects from the ball circuit in 1995 and continued filming for a decade. ''How Do I Look'' preserves the ball culture, which began in the 1920s during the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

, and has since influenced mainstream artists and musicians, university students use the film for thesis, community based and not for profit organizations for education and outreach. The film follows several ball "legends" such as Willi Ninja, Kevin UltraOmni, Octavia St. Laurent, Pepper LaBeija, Jose Xtravaganza and

Carmen Xtravaganza Carmen Inmaculada Ruiz (9 April 1961 – 4 August 2023), known as Carmen Xtravaganza and formerly as Carmen St. Laurent, was a Spanish-born American model and singer. A house mother of the House of Xtravaganza, she was featured in the 1990 d ...

. Many of the subjects that are featured in ''How Do I Look'' were also featured in the 1990 documentary '' Paris Is Burning''. ''How Do I Look'' also explores the prejudices members of the ball culture face due to their sexuality and race. In a 2005 ''New York Times'' article, choreographer and voguing dance ambassador Willi Ninja commented about the mainstream society's readiness to embrace facets of ball culture while also rejecting the Ball "children" due to their sexuality:

... "If
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
does
voguing Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It is inspired by the poses of models in fashion magazines. It gained mainstream exposure whe ...
, it's O.K.," he added. "But when the ball children dance, even now, people say, 'Oh, it's a bunch of crazy queens throwing themselves on the floor.'"

Other subjects speak about their attempts to forge careers in mainstream society and the effect that

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

has had on ball culture as many of the subjects featured died of AIDS during or shortly after filming was complete. How Do I Look? is hailed by members of the ball community, as a film that uplifts and prioritizes voices and experiences of community members. Many cast members express disdain and frustration over how Paris is Burning was produced, edited, and received by the public. Cast members, such as Carmen Xtravaganza and Marcel Christian Labeija, express frustration over how the cast was treated and portrayed in Paris is Burning, stating that they felt exploited and taken advantage of.

Reception

Box office

As an independent film production, ''How Do I Look'' did not receive financing or distribution from the commercial film industry. The filmmakers arranged independent screenings and distribution world-wide. As a result, the film was not made widely available in commercial movie theatres or art-houses upon its release in June 2006 during Gay Pride month. The documentary's earnings have principally come from the sale of DVD's and, more recently, from online streaming sites. Over the years, however, ''How Do I Look'' has earned commercial success by word of mouth recommendations, its numerous appearances in film festivals, Black Prides and Universities, and from its good standing relationship with the Ball community.

Critical response

Prior to its release in 2006, early screenings of ''How Do I Look'' garnered prominent media mentions in the ''Village Voice'', the ''New York Post,'' and ''The New York Times''. Early on, ''How Do I Look'' was noted as an " artistic awareness program," alluding to the film's noble aspects to improve the Ballroom communities public reputation, providing opportunities and to empower members of the Ballroom community. The media attention also focused on the African-American and Latino gay subculture, who were known to go to lengths to keep their homosexuality "under wraps," a situation referred to as being on the ''down low.'' Often, the film's numerous screenings in academic settings were reported. In the years following its release, ''How Do I Look'' has repeatedly been the subject of reports in the foreign press, including in the French public radio channel, France Inter. The documentary was noted for its goal of empowering the LGBTQ Ballroom community, in particular following the AIDS pandemic, as was reported in Italian ''Vogue''. In Spanish ''Vanity Fair'', the documentary was noted for having given new life to the vogue (dance) artistic impression, in particular by having added social, racial, and political conscience to the Ballroom community.

Accolades

Because ''How Do I Look'' was produced by and for the Ballroom community, it has been praised for having the coöperation of the Ball community in its production and for being faithful to its subject matter. The documentary has been named to several must-watch lists by the LGBTQ media. Them, the LGBTQ publication owned by Conde Naste, short-listed ''How Do I Look'' in its review of Ballroom history. ''Out'' magazine listed ''How Do I Look'' amongst six films about the Ballrooms and voguing. Mainstream culture publications, like ''W'' magazine, have also short-listed ''How Do I Look'' as a must-see "pride" film for LGBTQ audiences. The revealing interviews documented in ''How Do I Look'' have been lauded, in retrospect, for having been ahead of their time. In a review of "Transgender Sex Work and Society," which has been described as the definitive book about transgender sex work, a transgender star of ''How Do I Look'' was noted for her frank talk about transgender sex work.

Controversies

''How Do I Look'' began filming in the wake of accusations that Jennie Livingston, the filmmaker behind ''Paris Is Burning'', had exploited the Ballroom community after the release of that film. The accused exploitation was the inspiration for ''How Do I Look'', said co-assistant director Kevin Omni. In the years since ''How Do I Look'' was released, the documentary has been mentioned by many as providing balance to and/or a follow-up or sequel of content of ''Paris Is Burning''. Two of the assistant directors of the film are members of the Ballroom community, Kevin Omni and Luna Khan. In the media, Omni has also noted that the film aimed to create "possibilities" for members of the Ballroom community.

Production notes

''How Do I Look'' was filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

. It premiered at the NewFest Film Festival in New York City in June 2006. The assistant directors were Kevin Burrus and Luna Khan.

Home media

''How Do I Look'' was released on Region 1 DVD in the United States.

References

External links

* * * {{Ball culture 2006 films 2006 documentary films LGBTQ African-American culture American independent films Documentary films about HIV/AIDS Documentary films about ball culture Films about fashion Films shot in New York City 2006 LGBTQ-related films Documentary films about dance 2000s English-language films HIV/AIDS in American films 2000s American films American LGBTQ-related documentary films African-American LGBTQ-related films English-language documentary films