Ahead of June, which is Pride Month, YouTube has announced a slate of three free-to-watch Originals focused on queer stories and storytellers.
First up is critically-lauded documentary State of Pride, which follows former YouTube employee and current activist Raymond Braun in his journey to discover how LGBTQ+ people across America celebrate Pride. The Portal A-produced film, which was selected as an opening night feature for this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, is directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and premieres on YouTube May 29.
Newly-released details about the film reveal it features an interview with and performances by gay South African creator Troye Sivan, who originally garnered a following posting singing videos on YouTube (where he currently has 6.9 million subscribers). He’s since gone on to release two studio albums and has had multiple songs hit No. 1 on Billboard’s charts.
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Another YouTuber, Gigi Gorgeous (2.7 million subscribers), is the star of YouTube’s second Pride Month feature. This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous originally bowed back in February 2017, but for the first time, YouTube’s making it free to watch. Viewers can catch it on Gorgeous’ channel from June 5 to 30.
The documentary follows Gorgeous, a transgender woman, through her childhood and the debut of her YouTube channel in 2008. Originally, Gorgeous posted makeup reviews, but later used the channel to document her transition, sharing details about what it’s like to be trans as well as practical information for fellow trans people. This Is Everything is directed by Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, and has actually won a couple of awards itself, including a Streamy for Best Feature and a nod for Gorgeous from the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
YouTube’s last Pride Month feature is Stonewall Outloud, from nonprofit archivist organization StoryCorps and production company World of Wonder. The full-length documentary is based on an audio-only feature called Remembering Stonewall, which debuted on NPR in 1989 and chronicled the 1969 Stonewall Riots, where members of the queer community rebelled against police targeting them.
Stonewall Outloud will feature original audio from Remembering Stonewall, new interviews with activists who were at the riots, and conversations with queer YouTubers and celebrities (their names have not yet been announced). The documentary premieres on World of Wonder’s YouTube channel (1.2 million subscribers) June 26.
You can watch the trailer for State of Pride above, and the trailer for This Is Everything below. A trailer for Stonewall Outloud is forthcoming.
