What was really important was centering his voice.

And what was also super important was that this film not be about hagiography.

You know, so much of his life is he's looking for agency.

And I was like, Richard, you're going to tell your story.

You know, Hello and welcome back to the Director's Cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America.

In this episode, director Lisa Cortez reframes the canon of American pop music through its originator and innovator.

In Little Richard, I Am Everything.

Screened as part of the DGA's documentary series, the film combines a wealth of Little Richard's archival

and performance footage to reveal the true black queer origins of rock and roll. As the icon's story

is unspooled, so too are the contradictions between his life and music, as he gave the world

what he was never able to give himself. In addition to Little Richard, I Am Everything,

Cortez's other directorial credits include the documentary features, All In,

The Fight for Democracy, and the Space Race,

and the documentary shorts apart grows in Brooklyn, and imagine a future.

Following the documentary series screening of the film at the DGA

theater in Los Angeles, Cortez spoke with director Andi Timoner about Little Richard,

I Am Everything. Listen on for their conversation.

Thank you, everybody.

That's a lot, huh?

That's a huge history lesson.

A lot to take in.

Thank you for that.

...