Dustin Lance Black Explores Growing Up Gay in America in ‘Mama’s Boy’

Academy Award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black travels back to the places he grew up, explores his relationship with his mother, and growing up gay in America in the new upcoming documentary Mama’s Boy.

Raised in a conservative Mormon home in the American South, Dustin Lance Black’s mother, Anne, contracted polio as a child and endured years of hospital visits and brutal surgeries. Reliant on crutches for the rest of her life, Anne refused to be defined by the disease; she went to college and forged a successful career for herself whilst also raising a family and surviving two abusive marriages.

UNITED STATES – FEBRUARY 22: Dustin Lance Black in Los Angeles, United States on February 22th, 2009. (Photo by Alain BENAINOUS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

When Black came out to Anne at the age of 21, the close mother and son began a difficult journey together, reconciling her conservative, Mormon belief system with his new life as an openly gay man. By the time he won an Academy Award^® in 2009, she accompanied him proudly on the red carpet, wearing the white ribbon in support of same-sex marriage. Her support and encouragement led him to fight for marriage equality by overturning California’s Proposition 8, reach out to Mormon leaders in Salt Lake City and re-embrace his extended family in Texarkana.

Black’s close relationship with his mother, who overcame childhood polio, abusive marriages and Mormon dogma, while becoming Black’s emotional rock and ultimately, the inspiration for his activism is the centerpiece here. With a wealth of personal photographs and candid memories from Black’s family, colleagues, and friends, Mama’s Boy embraces the personal to tell a universally hopeful tale of resilience and reconciliation through the power of love and shared stories.

Adapted from Black’s 2019 memoir Mama’s Boy: A Story from our Americas, Mama’s Boy is a provocative and powerful journey through America as well as a moving tribute to a mother’s courage and a reckoning with the strength she instilled in her son to fight for his beliefs.

The film features interviews with Black and  members of his extended family; including his husband, Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley; filmmaker Paris Barclay; former president of the Human Rights Campaign, Chad Griffin; and executive director of Equality Utah, Troy Williams.

As our country stands once again at a crossroads, with stark political divides, the documentary is a timely reminder that open dialogue and storytelling are essential human tools for building bridges, changing hearts and healing the wounds that tear us apart.

Mama’s Boy, directed by Laurent Bouzereau, debuts Tuesday, October 18 at 9PM EST timed to coincide with LGBT history month. The film will premiere on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max.