“We’re killing ourselves by not embracing who God created us to be.”
Whew. Netflix’s forthcoming gay conversion documentary Pray Away directed by Kristine Stolakis and executive produced by Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum is going to be a tough watch.
The first trailer for the docu dropped today and the film spotlights Exodus, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. In the ’70s, five men “struggling” with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the “homosexual lifestyle” like it was some sort of illness. This bible study quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help — but to no surprise, these leaders struggled with a secret: they were still gay.
After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, Pray Away, which debuts on the streamer August 3, chronicles the “ex gay” movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.
Pray Away is a Multitude Films Production in association with Blumhouse, Lamplighter Films, Naked Edge Films, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Perspective Fund and Secret Sauce Media. Stolakis produces alongside Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous. In addition to Murphy and Blum, Executive Producers are Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Mary Lisio, Amanda Spain, Daniel J. Chalfen, Jim Butterworth, Katy Drake Bettner, Johnny Symons, Julie Parker Benello, Patty Quillin, Nion McEvoy, Leslie Berriman, Regina K. Scully, and Alexis Martin Woodall.
Watch the trailer above and check out the poster below.
