New York’s legendary ballroom scene continues to make an impact around the world. Ball culture was famously immortalised in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning, which examined the mid-to-late 80s African-American, LatinX, queer, and trans-led scene, which was founded by Crystal LaBeija in 1968. Madonna then came calling with Vogue, and more recently, Ryan Murphy’s 2018 drama series Pose reminded us of its fabulosity.

A new documentary, 10s Across the Borders, shines a light on present-day ball culture in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Director Chan Sze-Wei spent seven years following three trailblazers of the scene – Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi in The Philippines, Teddy Oricci in Malaysia and Aurora Sun Labeija in Thailand – to tell this remarkable tale of strength, resilience, passion and community.

Manila’s first ball was in 2016, with just three categories – Face, Runway and Vogue. We join the Iconic House of Mizrahi as they prep for 2024’s Rainbow Ball, now with sixteen categories. The scene is growing. Many Noguers are now Voguers! Mother of the House Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Jennifer Lopez, welcomes everyone. She’s actually a cis-heterosexual woman, and her House, funded by herself, spans all genders, races, and sexualities. She’s fiercely political, passionate, and runs a tight ship, offering affordable vogueing classes. She also takes her House to New York, where they participate in the Latex Ball.

Aurora Sun Labeija in Thailand is half Thai, half Norwegian, and very charming. They don’t align with any genders or other labels. The first ball there, the Diversity Kiki Ball, happened around 2018. Again, there is a very mixed group in the house. Lebeija was brought up by adoptive parents in Norway but has a great relationship with their birth mother. Their house is called Neverland.

Malaysia actually has the oldest ballroom scene of the three, pretty remarkable considering its repressive Muslim culture. House leader Teddy Oricci, an ex-Monk, ran away from his homophobic father but retains a beautiful relationship with his mother, alongside the members of his house. His house is The Kiki House for Lost Queers and he is connected to friends in New York’s ball culture. We join them as they prepare for 2022’s Bye Corona ball. They have a category for Femme Queens – trans women. There’s lots of fun and sharp-witted banter on show, as well as great looks and dancing. This crew is defiant and resilient and has survived police raids and trumped-up charges of impersonation of women.

10s Across the Borders is beautifully produced, very slick – a gentle, unobtrusive fly-on-the-wall style that allows all the (very likable) participants space to shine. There are tough stories of familial abuse, homophobia, transphobia, and racism, but these are countered by beautiful, heartfelt displays of love, courage, mutual respect, community, dance, and impressive fitness – without any egos. Many voguers are hurt and damaged from the past, but ball culture allows them to heal and thrive. The outfits, whilst cool, are not as extravagant as in other queer dress-up scenes, but that doesn’t lessen the energy and impact of the balls. It’s more about the attitude than the outfit these days. Energetic dance scenes are accompanied by a great soundtrack. The pandemic pushed the balls online, where they vastly increased their audiences, capturing the imagination of many queer South East Asian youth stuck at home. Ballroom suits the slightly camp, energetic, pretty and warm nature of South East Asia – more countries such as Vietnam are also developing scenes.

It’s an emotional watch – it’s clear these houses are really needed, in some cases they are life-saving. Let’s hope this film reaches more disaffected queer youth. Long may they live and thrive! 10/10