Documentary Shows What It's Like To Be Young, Black and Gay

Amir Dixon's recently released documentary, Friend of Essex, explores the lives of young black gay men and the struggles they face.

Dixon, 23, packed the film with one-on-one and group interviews, and jarring narratives that probe the difficult questions surrounding masculinity, identity, sexuality, and race. Viewers get a closer look at the black LGBT church, notions of masculinity within gay culture, and most powerfully, the mask worn by many within the young black gay community.