The timely, news-breaking documentary Gemmel and Tim, about the deaths of two black men in connection with this week's recently convicted political donor Ed Buck in West Hollywood - from award winning director, Michiel Thomas. In 2017 and 2019 respectively, Gemmel “Juelz” Moore and Timothy “Tim” Dean, two gay black men, both died of a meth overdose at the now-infamous Laurel Street apartment of Ed Buck, a once influential Democratic donor, businessman and animal, LGBTQ+, political activist. The deaths sent shockwaves through LA’s LGBTQ+ community and particularly West Hollywood, LA’s gay mecca. The ensuing media circus cooked up a spicy concoction of sex, drugs, race and politics, but had no appetite for the in-depth human stories of who Gemmel and Tim truly were. This documentary looks at Gemmel and Tim’s parallel walks of life through the eyes of their extended families.
Belgian native Michiel Thomas (35) is a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. His debut film Game Face was distributed by Netflix in 2016, screened at more than 50 film festivals worldwide and won 12 awards, including the Audience Award at Frameline 2015. His next feature doc That’s Wild (2020) was sold to PBS and AMC Networks, screened at 30+ film festivals and won 4 awards.