Billy Porter to Be Honored at Outfest 2022

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Billy Porter will be honored at the 2022 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

The festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

"Extra's" Rachel Lindsay spoke with Porter about the festival, where he will be where he will be premiering his directorial debut, "Anything’s Possible."

“Anything’s Possible,” which premieres on Amazon Prime Video July 22, is a coming-of-age story about a trans girl navigating her senior year in high school.

Porter commented, "One of the first films I ever starred in was Greg Berlanti's 'The Broken Hearts Club.' It was in that space, 22 years ago, where I said, as a Black queer man, 'I need be represented more in the market.' So here I am, 22 years later, coming back with my own movie. Fulfilling a dream that almost seemed impossible."

“There’s never been a movie that’s looked like this in history. We’re changing the game!” Porter added.

In a statement, Outfest Executive Director Damien S. Navarro said, “What better way to celebrate our 40th Outfest LA than to honor Billy Porter at our Opening Night with his incredible directorial debut alongside the hundreds of storytellers and artists who reflect the diversity of voices our community has been demanding to hear from.”

Navarro stressed the importance of the festival, telling Rachel, “To see now how much organizations like Outfest are desperately needed to reflect stories that we really are missing is what I think is the most exciting part.”

Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival runs from July 14 to 24.