FC-02. I Was Born This Way

US, Feature Documentary, 2025, 100 min

Featuring Lady Gaga, Questlove, Billy Porter and Dionne Warwick This screening is preceded by a short performance by Off Kilter, a small ensemble of the Denver Gay Men's Chorus

When Archbishop Carl Bean recorded the 1977 Motown hit and groundbreaking gay anthem I Was Born This Way, he launched a lifelong mission to change the world. Surviving racism, homophobia and childhood trauma, Bean first found his voice in gospel music with Harlem’s Christian Tabernacle Choir, then led Carl Bean and Universal Love on their 1974 album Universal Love. The Motown hit became the world’s first gay anthem, but Bean turned away from mainstream fame to embrace activism, founding the Minority AIDS Project to serve communities devastated by the AIDS crisis and establishing Unity Fellowship Church, the first LGBTQ+ ministry. Partly told through innovative rotoscope animation, I Was Born This Way celebrates the unapologetic Black gay trailblazer and his enduring message: “Love is for everyone.”

Directed by Daniel Junge, Sam Pollard

Boulder Premiere

A Call2Action selection