Little Richard: I Am Everything

description

A documentary about the one of a kind rock 'n' roll icon who shaped the world of music.

Directed by Lisa Cortés, the film tells the story of the black queer origins of rock n’ roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians and cutting edge black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself.

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Sundance Film Festival 2023
Boulder Film Festival 2023
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2023
Miami Film Festival 2023
SXSW 2023
BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2023

DIRECTOR'S BIO
Lisa Cortes is an Academy Award–nominated and Emmy-winning producer and director renowned for creating challenging, visionary stories. The film PRECIOUS, which she executive produced, received the Sundance Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for best drama. ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY (2020), which she directed with Liz Garbus, chronicles the battle waged by Stacey Abrams against voter suppression. LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING (2023) is Lisa's second feature film as director.