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Two Oscar™ and Emmy-award-winning filmmakers celebrate the life of Carl Bean, from his tough childhood through to his musical success and groundbreaking queer rights advocacy.
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 L.I.F.E Church.
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 L.I.F.E Church.
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Strands
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Topics
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Premiere statusEuropean premiere
Film details
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Director(s)Sam Pollard, Daniel Junge
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Country(s)USA
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Year2025
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Duration100 mins
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Executive producer(s)Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billy Porter
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Producer(s)Sam Pollard, Daniel Junge, Wellington Love
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CinematographyJerry Henry
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EditingTessa Malsam, Davis Coombe
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SoundLeslie Gaston-Bird
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Language(s)English
