Family of Choice

Brenda Akele Jorde, Gabriel Bihina Arrahnio

Voguing, one of ballroom's most iconic expressions, has become an integral part of pop culture

Artists like Madonna and Beyoncé have been inspired by this community and culture that emerged in New York in the 1960s as a resistance movement in the African American, Latinx, queer and trans scenes

Streaming now on

Georgina, an international ballroom legend known by her stage name Legendary Mother Leo St. Laurent, is the founder of the first ballroom house in Germany. Each house is structured like a family. Together they take part in competitions, the so-called balls, and deal with topics such as self-discovery, love, identity and acceptance in their Family of Choice. Together with her 21 members they will soon be celebrating their 10th anniversary with a sensational ball at the Volksbühne in Berlin. It is a firework of emotions and spectacular performances. The documentary series reveals the considerable vulnerability of the members in authentic situations as well as moments of fame and joy, of friendship and love...

Review

"The seven-part documentary series Family of Choice on RTL+ shows that ballroom culture, which was founded in the US in the 1960s and 1970s by black and Latino-American houses - read: queer families of choice - is also firmly rooted in Germany. The series accompanies the Berlin House of St. Laurent, a dancer, model and community activist."
- Jan Kedves
"They include Maurice and Antony, two queer, black performers who regularly exchange ideas in their podcast and question not only the norms but also the social boundaries of gender identity."
- Alexander Krei
"Georgina Philps founded Germany's first ballroom family in 2012 with 'House of Melody' (now: Saint Laurent). She has since become the American-style 'mother' who keeps her community together in a 'house'. She has an open ear for everyone. They dance, party and cook together. In the documentary, she admits that she pushes herself to the limit for her role – perhaps also because she is not queer, but 'only' PoC. For her group’s tenth anniversary, she organized a multi-day festival at the Volksbühne in Berlin. She also takes care of the day-to-day business of putting on the next ball."
- Susanne Gietl
"Also featured is Ria, a trans woman struggling for empowerment and furthering her transition. She lives in a partnership with a trans man and strives to show her feminine strength and sexuality on stage in her dance class."
- Alexander Krei
"Ria speaks openly about her painful encounters as a trans woman. In order for health insurance to pay for gender-affirming surgery, other people must judge her body: 'The assessor decides whether I can have breasts.’ Thanks to private donations from the community, she is now able to pay for plastic surgery. As Ria gets closer to her ideal, she becomes a strong contender in the 'Vogue Fem' category of ballroom dancing competitions."
- Susanne Gietl

Cast 
GEORGINA, Legendary Mother Leo Saint Laurent
SOPHIE, Overseer Yukiko Saint Laurent
CHRISTIANA, Crystal Saint Laurent
VALERIA, Ria Saint Laurent
LY THIEN CO FRIEDRICH, Litchi Saint Laurent
ANNA SHVEDKOVA, Mamba Saint Laurent
CIGDEM, Chi Chi Saint Laurent
HOWARD, Howard Saint Laurent
ANTONY, Antoine Saint Laurent
MAKSYM VOVK, Gentlebitch Saint Laurent
MAURICE, Amowia Saint Laurent
BLACK PEARL, Black Pearl Saint Laurent
DARWIN, Darwin Saint Laurent
DILARA, Alara Saint Laurent
FATOU, Empress Saint Laurent
LEE, Lee Saint Laurent
LINDI, Baddie Saint Laurent
CHRISTOPHER, Christopher 007

Writer & Director BRENDA AKELE JORDE, GABRIEL B. ARRAHNIO 
Showrunner TUAN LAM, STEFAN KAUERTZ 
Idea YVONNE VON MACH 
Creative Producer SYBELLA STEVENS 
Production Manager KARIN RUDOKAS 
Producer (The Iconic House of Saint Laurent) GEORGINA PHILP 
DOP CARMEN TREICHL, DORO GÖTZ, JESSE MAZUCH, JIDE TOM AKINLEMINU, ANNA MOTZEL 
Editor RUTH SCHÖNEGGE 
Co-Editor GUNTHER KREIS, LUKAS KASIMIR KUHNE, OLIVER BRAND 
Costume RUBY WILSON 
Make-up TITI AMOAKO, MARIA EHRLICH
Executive Producer YAN SCHOENEFELD, STEFAN KAUERTZ, FLORIAN SCHEWE