This Is Ballroom is a documentary feature from directors Juru and Vitã that traces the growth of queer ballroom culture in Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding areas. As active participants in the scene themselves, the pair bring an insider's perspective to the film, blending observational footage of a competitive ball with interviews that explore the wider community bonds underpinning the culture. It matters as a rare, first-hand portrait of how a movement born in Black, Latin and trans communities in 1960s New York has been reshaped by Brazilian performers.

The film opens with an energetic sequence introducing categories such as Runway, Face and Femme Queens, familiar to viewers of the 1990 classic Paris is Burning, while also showing how houses—chosen families of participants—compete for trophies. It distinguishes itself by incorporating local flavour, including categories inspired by samba and other Afro-Brazilian traditions, though the review notes such context could have been explored more fully. The documentary also confronts internal conflict head-on, depicting a fight between rival houses to examine the exclusion faced by those who don't fit binary gender presentation, resulting in a film that favours honest scrutiny over uncritical celebration.