Cinema: The Beauty of Ballroom

Cinema: The Beauty of Ballroom
Director: Chan Sze-Wei | Documentary | 96 minutes | Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany 2025 | FSK 12
Trailer
Showtimes: Daily at City 46

Inspired by the Black and Latinx underground ballroom culture of New York, Sun, Teddy, and Xyza found ballroom communities in Southeast Asia – as safe havens from homophobia, transphobia, colorism, and HIV stigmatization.
In Malaysia, Teddy flees his father's violence and fights to be himself in a homophobic country. In ballroom, he finds not only self-affirmation but also the paternal closeness he longs for.
The Filipina Xyza dreams of becoming a model – but she's told it's impossible with her dark skin. In the international ballroom communities, she finally finds her self-confidence. With renewed fire, she returns to the Philippines to build a community where everyone can feel beautiful and loved – regardless of skin color, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
In Thailand, Sun uses ballroom to understand his complex history: as a queer person, as the child of a sex worker and a Norwegian, and between his torn birth and foster families in Thailand and Norway.