
POV
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
Despite his achievements in the Civil Rights Movement, Bayard Rustin was silenced and imprisoned due to being an openly gay man in a homophobic era.
Homosexuality was a mental illness to be “cured” until LGBTQ activists fought the Establishment—and won.
Bennett Singer has been making social-issue documentaries for more than 25 years. He co-produced and co-directed Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; was broadcast nationally on PBS’ POV series and Logo; and won more than 20 international awards, including the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding… Show more
Patrick Sammon has a mix of experience in filmmaking, broadcast journalism, and LGBT political advocacy. He is President of Story Center Films, a documentary production company based in Washington, DC. He is the Creator and Executive Producer of Codebreaker, a “superb” (The Telegraph), “imaginative” (Sunday Times), award-winning… Show more
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This David-vs.-Goliath story follows the psychiatrists and activists who fought to remove homosexuality from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in the early 1970s. Facing treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy, castration, and lobotomies as “cures” for homosexuality, gay people recognized that overturning the mental illness label was a crucial step on the road to equality. Through newly unearthed archival footage and incisive interviews with participants, this award-winning film illuminates a pivotal moment in the Gay Liberation movement—one that changed not only the LGBTQ community and the field of psychiatry, but also the social fabric of America.
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