It’s hard to imagine a figure who better embodies 1980s pop than Boy George. This vibrant musical chronicle in the spirit of “sex, drugs & rock’n’roll,” tracing the meteoric rise and fall of an artist truly ahead of his time comes from a seasoned Australian director. At its core, it is also a story about the need for love, the pain of not fitting in, and the struggle for identity in a world that refuses to accept vulnerability.
Boy George remains one of the most iconic figures of 1980s pop culture. His flamboyant, queer image still dazzles today, while nearly forty years ago, he seemed a visitor from another planet. With his angelic voice and androgynous charm, the fragile young singer became a global symbol for those who didn’t fit traditional gender molds. In the Reagan and Thatcher era, when LGBTQ+ people were lumped together under the label “homosexuals,” it was a brave and isolated stand. Alison Ellwood’s film is a vibrant musical chronicle in the spirit of “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll,” charting the meteoric rise and turbulent fall of a pop phenomenon ahead of his time. It is also an intimate story about love, alienation, and the search for identity in a world that equates vulnerability with weakness.
Konrad Wirkowski
2025 Tribeca
2025 Hamburg FF