Queer films battle for Oscars! I break it down for you!
A post shared by RustinMovie (@rustinmovie)In Netflix’s Rustin—which was the opening night film at New York’s LGBTQ+ festival NewFest–civil rights activist Bayard Rustin is described as “a shark trapped in a shot glass”; he exuded that much ferocious energy.
Rustin was instrumental in planning the 1963 March on Washington, which brought out 250,000 protestors, peacefully demanding equality for Black people.
He also happened to be gay, which complicated things, since his life was painfully spent battling two oppressions at once. The film—directed by George C.
Wolfe and produced by the Obamas—doesn’t attempt a biopic, but rather focuses on the time of the March, when Rustin is determined to make a national impact, while also trying to persuade Martin Luther King (Aml Ameen) to stand by him despite his strategically revived sexuality scandals.
