The Gay Docuseries That Took On New York’s Circuit Scene Is Heading To Puerto Vallarta
The Circuit: Puerto Vallarta is a new documentary from creator Daniel Lui that picks up where his Amazon Prime series left off, this time swapping New York City for Mexico’s most popular gay beach town. The film follows the LGBTQIA+ nightlife scene in Puerto Vallarta and the complicated fight to keep Jeffrey Sanker’s legendary White Party alive after he died in 2021.
From web series to Amazon Prime to the big screen
DNA readers might remember The Circuit from its early days. Back in 2020, we covered the original series when it launched on YouTube, starring DNA cover model Ian Frost alongside DJs Nina Flowers and Joe Pacheco. That first season pulled back the curtain on New York’s underground circuit party world, following the DJs, go-go dancers, producers and self-described “circuit queens” who keep the scene running.
The show found a bigger audience when it landed on Amazon Prime, where it’s still streaming. Now Lui has turned his camera south to Puerto Vallarta for a standalone documentary that goes deeper than the party itself.
Jeffrey Sanker’s legacy and the man trying to carry it forward
At the centre of the new film is a question that’s been hanging over the circuit community since May 2021, when White Party founder Jeffrey Sanker died of liver cancer at 65. Sanker had been producing the White Party for over 30 years, starting in Palm Springs before expanding to Puerto Vallarta. He got his start promoting events at Studio 54 and the Palladium in New York during the early 1980s, and went on to build what became the largest gay dance music festival in the United States.
Chris Diamond, Sanker’s longtime collaborator and now executive producer of White Party Global, is the person tasked with keeping that legacy going. Diamond spent a decade working alongside Sanker and told Instinct Magazine: “When I think of this party, there is no other LGBTQ party that has been a symbol for exclusivity and change than Jeffrey Sanker’s White Party.” The documentary tracks Diamond as he takes on competing promoters in Puerto Vallarta while dealing with the fallout of a difficult business partnership.
What we know so far
The Circuit: Puerto Vallarta is currently in its festival and distribution phase, with a 15-second teaser already live on YouTube. The film hasn’t announced a streaming platform or release date yet, but given the original series’ home on Amazon Prime, it’s one to keep an eye on.
Haven’t seen The Circuit: New York yet? All four episodes are still available on Amazon Prime. And if you want a taste of what the Puerto Vallarta instalment looks like, the teaser alone makes it clear this one leans harder into the drama behind the scenes than the glitter on the dance floor.
