About

What Is Flaming Classics?

Flaming Classics electrifies the movie-going experience through a curated film series, pairing films from the queer canon with live performances from local drag artists to create a one-of-a-kind event for South Florida. Infused with a sense of social activism, community building, and fun, the series aspires to entertain and educate.

Based at the Bill Cosford Cinema, each Flaming Classics event includes an introduction, a screening, and a tailored live performance. The juxtaposition of film history with queer performance produces a diverse audience and the idea of inclusion is a guiding force to the series. Connection and conversation are the two central tenets of Flaming Classics. By recontextualizing the cinematic experience and relocating the space of queer performance art, the series hopes to create a unique experience for the community. 

Curators

Juan Barquin is a film critic whose work has appeared in the Miami Herald, Miami New Times, Hyperallergic, and Flavorwire, among other publications. They are the co-editor of the site, Dim the House Lights, and have discussed film at a number of festivals and art cinemas in South Florida. They aspire to be Bridget Jones and love queer cinema, Sondheim musicals, and talking about Todd Haynes’ Carol. Their favorite films include The Sound of Music, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and anything by Nora Ephron.

Trae DeLellis is a PhD student at the University of Miami and serves as creative director at the Bill Cosford Cinema. He has taught courses in Film History, Cinema Appreciation, and the New French Extremity. His article, “Copycat, Copycat: The Anxiety of Influence in Irma Vep,” was published in the French Literature Series. His dissertation project, Yonic Panic: Anxiety, Abjection, and the Trauma of Birth, examines a group of films in relation to the works of Otto Rank and Julia Kristeva. His favorite films are Vertigo, Anatomy of Hell, and anything with Tilda Swinton.