New Local Docuseries Lights Up the World with Authenticity

thegavoice.com:

“Queer rights is Black rights, and Black rights is human rights, and human rights is everybody’s rights.” — Derek Jae, “Light Up” Out On Film celebrates its 37th annual film festival, themed Queer Joy, which Festival Director Jim Farmer says is, “something we all need and deserve, especially after so many years where everything we saw in terms of LGBTQIA+ representation in movies and TV was tragic and dour.” An embodiment of Queer Joy and just one of the festival’s 158 films comes in the form of “Light Up,” a documentary directed by Ryan Ashley Lowery that documents the inspiring life stories of five queer, Atlanta-based subjects.

In an interview with Georgia Voice, Lowery said he felt called to create the project to “show a diverse set of LGBTQ people.” “There’s a need for healing within our community,” he said. “So I wanted to create a film that was therapeutic, that was healing, that allowed people to be seen, heard, and loved,” Lowery said.

The 91-minute film is the first in a Light Up docuseries subtitled, “How My Queerness Became My Superpower,” as it intertwines powerfully intimate interviews — including gay, Black minister, Benjamin Carlton; world-renowned hairstylist, Derek Jae; influencer and LGBTQ activist, Obio Jones; celebrity fashion designer and former professional athlete, Octavius Terry; and actress/model/dancer, Simone Tisci.

Lowery said he interviewed over 20 people for the series. “I believe a higher being chose that cast and filtered that through me,” he said.