I Was Born This Way
A deeply moving, joyful documentary that celebrates the revolutionary life and music of Archbishop Carl Bean.

I Was Born This Way 
• 7pm, Thursday February 19th, 2026
Event Cinema, George Street 
Co-presented by Groovescooter for
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2026

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Dir. Daniel JungeSam Pollard

Watch the trailer below

Featuring interviews with admirers including Lady Gaga, Billy Porter and Dionne Warwick, & Questlove this deeply moving, joyful documentary celebrates the revolutionary life and music of Archbishop Carl Bean.

Overcoming a childhood marked by racism, homophobia and abuse, Carl Bean found his voice through church choirs. Forging a career singing gospel and soul, in 1977 he gained fame when he recorded the Motown hit “I Was Born This Way”, the first ever gay anthem. But in the 1980s he gave up his mainstream music career to focus on activism, founding the Minority AIDS Project at the height of the AIDS crisis, before going on to establish the world’s first LGBTIQ+ ministry, the Unity Fellowship Church.

Blending archival footage with striking rotoscope animation, Oscar-winner Daniel Junge (Saving Face) and Emmy-winner Sam Pollard beautifully capture the extraordinary life and legacy of an unapologetic Black, gay trailblazer, to once again deliver his resounding message: love is for everyone.