Jeremy Pope’s Short ‘God Is Good’ Acquired by The Criterion Channel (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Jeremy Pope’s short “God Is Good” has been acquired by The Criterion Channel.

Inspired by the actor and singer’s debut “EP Last Name: Pope,” Pope wrote and stars in the film, which was directed by C Prinz and choreographed by Parris Goebel.

The film is billed as a blend of memoir, monologue, surrealism and dance as Pope explores masculinity, vulnerability and societal expectations as seen through the lens of a Black queer man in America.

Raised by a preacher and a professional bodybuilder father, Pope draws on his upbringing to confront internalized homophobia and navigate his identity. “I’ve spent the majority of my life at odds with the world’s ideas of how masculinity should present itself as a Black man,” Pope says. “I’ve made it my mission to unpack the unhealthy behaviors and ideas about my existence that don’t serve me in a positive way all in an effort to love my strength, my vulnerability, and how it all informs my heart and mind. “I truly believe that I am allowed to have a spiritual connection with something that is greater than just me no matter what any church, book, or faith-believing observer may say,” he adds.