I'm Your Venus

Bluesky

Venus Xtravaganza wanted to meet a nice man and settle down, have a little house and a family. She also wanted to be a successful model. It was the 1980s; so did every other girl in New York City. But Venus wasn’t like those other girls. She had the looks. She had the glamour. She had the go-getting attitude to become a star. The trouble was that the world wasn’t ready for her. It wasn’t even ready to accept her as a woman. That’s likely part of the reason why she was strangled to death at the age of just 23.

Venus’ murder came to public attention after cinemagoers fell in love with her in the game-changing documentary Paris Is Burning, which famously celebrated the city’s underground ballroom scene. It has never, however, been solved. This film follows three of her brothers from her birth family, the Pellagattis, as they undertake their own investigation, trying to do right by a sister whom they understand better now than when she was alive.

From the start, there is something different about this film. It has a warmth about it that isn’t usually found in true crime stories, perhaps because enough time has passed for people to focus on the life of the woman they loved, perhaps because of who she was. Though it goes on to involved police reports, a DNA test, a jailhouse confession and more, these recede in relevance even as they fill in gaps about her final night. That’s partly because Venus’ story moves out of the past and into the present. Uneasy first meetings between the Pellagattis and members of the House of Xtravaganza who knew Venus give way to the bonding of the two families, with delight on both sides.

Venus grew up in a close-knit community, half Italian and half Puerto Rican, with a grandmother who recognised her gender early on and did what she could to provide her with a safe haven. The brothers discuss how confused they were back then, how they didn’t understand the difference between being gay and trans, how the macho culture they were surrounded by affected their thinking. In places their memories of their own past behaviour clash with what the Xtravaganzas remember Venus telling them, and there is sadness and an ongoing opportunity for learning. Her own words come through in interview clips, mostly focused on simple, day to day matters. A former friend also shares her thoughts.

What does Venus’ legacy mean today? She’s not the only member of her house to have died tragically, but the impact of her personality and style go beyond that. We meet a young woman growing up there today and hear about what the support of the house has meant for her. This is one of the parts of the film where the difference in expectations between the Xtravaganzas and the Pellagattis is at its most striking, emphasising how much people in the LGBTQ+ community take exclusion for granted. Gradually coming to understand this, the brothers embark on two new quests: one to ensure that their sister is finally given the basic respect everyone deserves, and one to make a mark on the world that will help to preserve the community in history.

In its elegantly woven arc, I’m Your Venus incorporates the three pillars of queer resistance: a farewell to the dead, a protest at the mistreatment of the living, and a party to restore courage and pride. It’s at the latter stage that the bond between the two families finally becomes complete, and with such ebullience that, in spite of the tragedy of Venus’ death, you’ll leave the film feeling very alive.