YouTube on Thursday announced that it
had greenlit an original documentary that takes “an unflinching
look at the significance of Pride 50 years after the historic
Stonewall Riots.”
Titled State of Pride and
expected to debut in June, the documentary is directed by Academy
Award-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.
The start of the modern LGBT rights
movement is often traced back to the Stonewall Riots, which took
place over six nights in June, 1969. Violence spilled into the
streets of Greenwich Village sparked by a police raid of the
Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar frequented by drag queens.
The riots led to the first gay pride parades in the United States.
In the documentary, activist Raymond
Braun travels across America to experience Pride in major cities and
rural towns.
“We are incredibly honored to bring
this important and compelling documentary State
of Pride to people around the world,” said Susanne
Daniels, global head of original content at YouTube. “The film
features powerful conversations with inspiring individuals as they
open up about Pride and how it has changed over the past 50 years.”
Previous projects from Rob Epstein and
Jeffrey Friedman include the Academy Award-winning Common Threads:
Stories from the Quilt and the Emmy Award-winning Celluloid
Closet.