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Praised as one of “the rare voices from within the film industry to speak…passionately and openly about gay activism,” Dustin Lance Black worked tirelessly to bring the story of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk to the big screen. He not only wrote the Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Milk (2009) but also served as the feature film’s executive producer. It was during his undergraduate studies at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television that Black first embraced storytelling as a tool to humanize LGBTQ+ issues. Coming out during his senior year, he was inspired by Milk’s legacy to believe that he could live his life fully and authentically.
While building a successful career with his work for stage and screen, Black also joined the fight for marriage equality by supporting a successful challenge to California’s Proposition 8. The 2008 ballot initiative that resulted in a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was overturned.
Nacido en Sacramento, California
Elogiado como una de “las raras voces en la industria del cine que hablaron [...] con pasión y franqueza sobre el activismo gay”, Dustin Lance Black trabajó sin descanso por llevar a la pantalla grande la historia del activista gay asesinado Harvey Milk. No solo escribió el guion original de Milk (2009), con el cual ganó un Oscar, sino que fue productor ejecutivo del filme. Cuando estudiaba en la Escuela de Teatro, Cine y Televisión de UCLA, Black adoptó el género narrativo como vehículo para humanizar los proble- mas de la comunidad LGBTQ+. Se declaró gay en su cuarto año, inspirado por el legado de Milk a vivir su vida plena y auténticamente.
A la par que cultivaba su exitosa carrera en teatro y cine, Black se unió a la lucha por la igualdad en el matrimonio apoyando una exitosa impugnación de la Proposición 8 de California. El referéndum de 2008 que había permitido enmendar la constitución estatal para prohibir el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo quedó abolido.