“The south is the home of all things queer,” says writer and scholar Zandria Robinson in this new documentary, adding that “queerness” essentially means “difference”. And Little Richard was definitely different.
A pioneer for Blackness and queerness who never got his dues, Little Richard was a complicated figure, as visionaries often are. Featuring interviews with John Waters, Billy Porter and Elton John amongst a host of other famous faces this documentary looks beyond the make-up, flamboyance and self created mythology. As director Cortés says: “He did this in 1955 where you could get killed for being gay. He’s brave, he’s bold, he’s unique.”
Introduced by writer, historian and performer Dr Edson Burton, his academic specialisms include: Bristol and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Black History in the USA, Cultural continuities between Africa & the New World. Edson has maintained a parallel career as a poet (seasoned 2008) and writer for theatre and radio and is a member of film programming initiative ‘Come the Revolution’.
