Review: LGBTQ+ Doc 'Pieces of Us' Puts it All Together

Director Cheryl Allison delves into the lives of a number of people with "Pieces of Us," which shows how networks of connection, comity, and common purpose can be positive responses to prejudice, hatred, and acts of violence.

The story begins with JP Masterson, a school psychologist and rapper who was assaulted in public by a stranger spouting anti-gay slurs. Explaining the attack, Masterson relates how he was afraid to defend himself against he physical assault, since a number of people – spectators, rather than good Samaritans – had their phones out and were filming the incident. Masterson thought if a clip of him fighting back were to go viral, he would lose his job.

Masterson ended up connecting with another hate crime survivor, Mykel Dicus (also a producer on this film), who had been choked to unconsciousness in his own apartment by another man. The assailant went to jail; Mykel reached out for help, first to the Anti-Violence Project hotline, because he didn't trust the NYPD to treat the case properly. Then Mykel reached out again, this time to help others.

One of the people he connected with was Leia Rochelle, whose 9-year-old son, Jamel Myles, killed himself in 2018 after enduring homophobic bullying at school.

Other connections were forming, also, including with Sue Sena, the founder of the Swish Ally Fund, a project in which straight allies help fund outreach and educational efforts. The Swish Ally Fund gave a grant to Mykel's organization Broadway to Bombay, which eventually brought openly gay Indian prince Manvendra Singh Gogil into the picture.

The film discusses a range of interconnected issues, including educating children to be aware of the potentially harmful effects of the words they use, the need for schools to take homophobia and anti-LGBTQ+ bullying seriously, and the need for law enforcement to treat LGBTQ+ victims with the respect and sensitivity owed to any member of the public whom they protect and serve.

But the larger takeaway is how allyship and mutual effort can bring personal healing, as well as make inroads in the fight against social and institutional prejudice.

"Pieces of Us" screens at the Bent Film Festival.