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WATCH: Dustin Lance Black revisits his closeted, Mormon childhood in new documentary

Screenshot: ‘Mama’s Boy,’ HBO

Dustin Lance Black, like so many gay men, always had a very strong connection with his mom

But things were complicated. He grew up in a Mormon home, struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. One, because he thought that meant he was going to hell. And, two, because didn’t want to disappoint his beloved mother, Roseanne, who raised Black and his two brothers while she was living with polio, paralyzed from the chest down.

Their complex relationship is at the heart of the new HBO documentary, Mama’s Boy, based on Black’s revealing 2019 autobiography, Mama’s Boy: A Story From Our Americas.

Long before his high-profile marriage to Olympic diver Tom Daley, before his historic Oscar win for Milk, or his work on other celebrated projects like Under The Banner Of Heaven and When We Rise, Black was another closeted kid in suburbia.

Related: DLB & Tom Daley, making the world safe for gay dads everywhere by staring down the trolls

Mama’s Boy revisits that time in the writer-director’s young life, when he lived in fear of his secret getting out and losing his mother. But, eventually, the truth had to come out, and the doc details how Black and his mom found common ground, teaching him a crucial lesson building bridges that would inspire his career in filmmaking and activism.

Told through archival footage and talking head interviews with Black, as well as many of his loved ones and collaborators (don’t worry: Tom Daley’s in there, too), the doc tells a powerful story about storytelling, resilience, and why it’s important to create the time and space to share with others.

Directed by Laurent Bouzereau (Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind), Mama’s Boy is set to make its world premiere as the opening night presentation of New York City’s Newfest on October 13. The film is then set to debut October 18 on HBO (and simultaneously on HBO Max).

You can watch the trailer below:

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