To his fans, Dustin Lance Black is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter and one of Hollywood’s most prolific queer talents. Behind the scenes, he’s also a loving husband to Olympian Tom Daley and a doting dad to their son, Robert Ray.
This fall, the “Milk” writer will delve into his Mormon upbringing as well as his current private and professional life for a new documentary. “Mama’s Boy,” adapted from Black’s 2019 memoir of the same name, will have its world premiere Oct. 13 as part of NewFest, New York’s annual LGBTQ film festival.
“For a little gay boy growing up in Texas, it was about as stacked a deck as you could get, I’ll tell you that,” Black told NPR in 2019. “I loved the security of the faith, even, but it also meant I had a lot of words, pejorative words to define being gay, by about the age of 6. I knew that around the people I loved and valued most, I was a sinner, and a criminal, and perhaps even mentally ill ... and that’s a lot for a little 6-year-old to carry.”
Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, “Mama’s Boy” is just one of many highlights of the 2022 NewFest roster. The eight-day festival is taking place in a hybrid format, and will feature more than 130 films from 23 countries.
Other buzzworthy screenings include “The Return of Tanya Tucker — Featuring Brandi Carlile,” a behind-the-scenes look at the two singer-songwriters as they team up in the studio, and “My Policeman,” starring Emma Corrin and Harry Styles.
Catch the trailer for “My Policeman” below.
Todd Flaherty’s “Chrissy Judy,” a 2022 Provincetown Film Festival favorite, will also be shown, while filmmaker Elegance Bratton will receive the Breakthrough Queer Visionary Award for his acclaimed military drama “The Inspection.”
NewFest concludes Oct. 23 with “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” filmmaker Laura Poitras’ documentary about globally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin.
Visit the official NewFest website for more information on this year’s screenings.