I Was Born This Way

Stills
Book Tickets

From an Oscar™ and Emmy award-winning team, a celebration of the life of Carl Bean, charting his tough childhood through to his musical success and groundbreaking queer rights

In the 1970s, after surviving a childhood of abuse, an orphaned Carl Bean found himself in the thick of the gay community, far removed from his upbringing in a Black church. Soon after his secular musical career took off, he rediscovered his love for gospel and message music. Then Motown tapped him for a punchy cover of the song I Was Born This Way and Bean had no idea what he was about to unleash. Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard’s film offers a multi-faceted overview of this era’s queer scene and highlights Bean’s much-needed interventions at the height of the HIV/Aids pandemic, as well as his Minority Aids Project and, later on, his remarkable work at the Unity Fellowship Church.

Film details

  • Director(s)
    Sam Pollard, Daniel Junge
  • Country(s)
    USA
  • Year
    2025
  • Duration
    100 mins
  • Executive producer(s)
    Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billy Porter
  • Producer(s)
    Sam Pollard, Daniel Junge, Wellington Love
  • Cinematography
    Jerry Henry
  • Editing
    Tessa Malsam, Davis Coombe
  • Sound
    Leslie Gaston-Bird
  • Language(s)
    English
  • Subtitles
    No English Subtitles
  • Sales Company
    Charlotte Lichtman / CAA
  • Certification
    15

Book tickets

I Was Born This Way + Conversation
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Crucible Theatre
Live Captions
Conversation with director Daniel Junge and contributors Cori Robinson, Beatitude Bishop Jones. Moderated by Che Scott-Heron Newton.
I Was Born This Way
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Showroom - Screen 2

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