“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. “I believe this higher being, I call it God, had his hands all over this project, and he actually selected people.”
Octavius Terry emphasizes in the film how many doors opened and opportunities arose when he embraced his identity as a “same-gender loving man.” Though he always wanted to work in fashion, a young adult Octavius felt compelled to lean into heteronormative and masculine social roles, even to the detriment of his emotional and spiritual health.
“I don’t want another brown boy to ever have to go through thinking that they’re bad or [that] they’re wrong for who they are,” Octavius said.
In the film, Octavius details the moments in his life that filled him with dread, fearing someone would find out he is gay, but he ultimately finds success when he does come out. In his ever-fascinating life, Octavius married his then-partner Jamal Sims at the 2014 Grammys, where Queen Latifah married 33 same-gender couples in a mass wedding.
When he was 40, he enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. After graduating, Octavius quickly began working with high-profile clients. Before long, he was designing wedding tuxedos for Ray J and was praised by Jimmy Kimmel, who called his suit for Moonlight’s Tarell Alvin McCraney “the best of the night” at the 89th Academy Awards. Octavius is writing his memoir, aptly titled Learning How to Finish.
Director Lowery said he wanted to avoid a political agenda with this project, saying it might “scare people off.”
“Although this is an LGBTQ film, it’s a human film,” he said. “I wanted people to connect with the humanness of each person, develop empathy, and see a reflection of themselves in our characters, no matter if they were straight or gay … When you’re authentic, you’re really able to be who this higher being called you to be.”
“Light Up: How My Queerness Became My Superpower” is a powerful film that connects unique individuals through similar experiences in homophobic and transphobic spaces. It’s the first in a docuseries, which is still in production.
More information is available at lightupdocumentary.com. “Light Up” is available to stream on Monday, September 30 for $12 here. Trigger warning: discussions of abuse.
Connect with the cast:
Official Light Up (@lightupdoc on IG)
Benjamin Carlton (@ibencarlton on IG)
Derek Jae (@derekjhair on IG)
Obio Jones (@obioojones on IG)
Octavius Terry (@octaviusterry on IG)
Ryan Ashley Lowery (@iam_ryanashley on IG)
Simone Tisci (@japanesefaces on IG)