Outfest Industry Chat with Effie Brown, Elegance Bratton, and Chester Algernal

In July 2019, Outfest Los Angeles hosted the World Premiere of Elegance Bratton’s remarkable documentary, Pier Kids, a years-in-the-making effort about the queer and trans youth living at New York City’s Christopher Street Pier. It has since had a successful run on the film festival circuit, but distribution remains elusive. Bratton is joined by his producer, Chester Algernal, in a discussion with award-winning Producer and CEO of film financing fund Gamechanger Effie Brown (Dear White People) about the origins of the film, the industry’s response to films and projects that center queer Black life, and how Pier Kids undoubtedly speaks to this current moment when systemic racism, police violence toward the Black community, and the solutions necessary to address those issues are the focal point of an urgent national conversation.