Synopsis
Directors:
Julie Cohen and Betsy West
91 min, US, 2021
“America, be what you proclaim yourself to be!” Such are the activist and aspirational words of Pauli Murray, the most extraordinary feminist non-binary Black civil rights lawyer, poet, and priest you may have never heard of. In this timely follow-up to their Oscar-nominated film RBG, directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West chronicle the life of another inspiring progressive icon. Told through Murray’s own potent words, this powerful documentary follows the trailblazer’s lifelong moral crusade of social justice litigation and breaking barriers—against segregation and discrimination in America—all the while enduring poignant personal struggles around gender and racial identity. An “intricately crafted” (Variety) and “engrossing… tender… rich portrait” (RogerEbert.com), this essential “diligently assembled, absorbing film [is] destined to win hearts, minds and audiences” (Screen International).