Pier Kids, about LGBTQ+ homeless youth at the Christopher Street Pier, is personal. A formerly homeless youth, Bratton arrived in New York City at 16 after his mother kicked him out of his New Jersey home for being gay, he explains in a short video called u.
For Pier Kids, Bratton filmed and immersed himself in the lives of three Black queer young people, Casper, Desean, and Krystal for five years as they navigated the streets of New York City with the famed Christopher Street Pier as their home base.“The film follows these three over the course of five years to understand what it means to be Black and queer 50 years after Stonewall and show the intricate ways people of color utilize public space to build a chosen family,” according to a.