BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN NAME:DC Public Library X-WR-CALNAME:DC Public Library BEGIN:VEVENT UID:0ec7e08c-d30c-42da-9c38-e52035b285d3 SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20260902T201325Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251016T203000 SUMMARY:CURED Documentary Screening\, Talkback and Reception LOCATION:Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library\nMartin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Martin Luther King Jr. Mem orial Library - Central Library;X-APPLE-RADIUS=10;X-TITLE=Martin Luther Ki ng Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library:geo:38.8986823,-77.024871 GEO:38.8986823;-77.024871 DESCRIPTION:In recognition of LGBTQ+ History Month and National Coming Out Day\, the Library is pleased to host a screening and discussion of the aw ard-winning documentary CURED. Reception to follow..\nhttps://dclibrary.li bnet.info/event/14774014 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

CURED tells the story of a pivotal yet lar gely unknown chapter in the struggle for LGBTQ+ equality\, dignity and vis ibility: the campaign that led the American Psychiatric Association to rem ove the diagnosis of homosexuality from its manual of mental illnesses in 1973.

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Until this momentous change\, every gay person &mdash\; no m atter how well-adjusted &mdash\; was automatically classified as mentally ill and in need of a &ldquo\;cure.&rdquo\; Described as &ldquo\;fascinatin g&rdquo\; (Hollywood Reporter) and &ldquo\;one of the best docume ntaries of this or any year&rdquo\; (British Film Institute)\, th e film weaves rare archival material with first-person testimony from the activists\, psychiatrists\, and allies who challenged psychiatry&rsquo\;s classification and won a crucial victory in the modern movement for LGBTQ+ equality. CURED has also been hailed by The Queer Review as &ldq uo\;riveting\,&rdquo\; with the reviewer adding: &ldquo\;It&rsquo\;s hard not to be deeply moved and shed tears of appreciation for the queer heroes who came before us.&rdquo\;

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Following the screening\, the film's Emmy-nominated directors\, \;Patrick Sammon \;and  \;Bennett Singer\, will be joined by \;D r. Danielle Hairston \;for an interactive talkback session.\n

A reception\, open to all attendees\, will follow the Q&\;A.

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About the Panelists

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Patrick Sammon\, a resident of Washington\, D C\, is the co-producer and co-director of CURED\, an Emmy-nominated PBS do cumentary that has won more than 20 prizes\, including audience awards at the LGBTQ film festivals in San Francisco and New York\; the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media\; and a $50\,000 award in the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. He previously served as creator and executive producer of CODEBREAKER\, an award-winnin g drama-documentary about the life and legacy of gay British codebreaker A lan Turing that reached more than three million viewers worldwide. Patrick &rsquo\;s latest film\, LOU&rsquo\;S LEGACY: A REPORTER&rsquo\;S LIFE AT < em>THE WASHINGTON BLADE\, tells the story of legendary Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr.\; it had its world premiere earlier this year a t the King Library in DC and subsequently aired on PBS.

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Bennett Singer is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and the other co-director of CURED. He earn ed a duPont-Columbia Award for his work on EYES ON THE PRIZE II\, the land mark PBS series on the history of the civil rights movement\, and went on to co-direct BROTHER OUTSIDER\, a documentary portrait of the gay civil ri ghts activist Bayard Rustin. That film premiered at the Sundance Film Fest ival and is currently streaming on Netflix and Kanopy\; it was shown at th e King Library in DC earlier this year as an official selection of WorldPr ide 2025. The former executive editor of TIME Magazine&rsquo\;s education program\, Bennett is the author or editor of five books\, including\, most recently\, LGBTQ STATS\, an award-winning almanac of facts and figures on the LGBTQ+ revolution that he co-authored with his husband\, David Descha mps. With Patrick Sammon and several other colleagues\, he co-directed QUE ER2QUEER\, a series of short videos featuring intergenerational conversati ons between LGBTQ+ activists. The series won the 2025 Award for Excellence in Digital Video from NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.

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Dr. Danielle Hairston \;is a nationally and internationally recognized le ader in medical education and training. As the Psychiatry Training Directo r at Howard University\, she's dedicated to cultivating excellence in psyc hiatry. A graduate of Rutgers and Howard University\, Dr. Hairston is a pr ominent voice in mental health equity\, having served as past president of the American Psychiatric Association&rsquo\;s Black Caucus and as contrib uting author to \;Racism and Psychiatry. \;Beyond her aca demic and leadership roles\, she curates personalized wellness experiences that foster transformation and enjoyment for both corporate teams and ind ividuals. \;A former Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Leader and Hopelab Fellow\, she shares her expertise through her Black Psychiatry pla tform\; \;as a recurring expert on \;The Karen Hunter Show\; \;and on \;The Next 72 Hours \;podcast\, which&nb sp\;explores the lived realities of Black people navigating the American m ental health system.

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Watch the trailer

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To learn more about CURED\, visit www.cureddocumentary.com\n

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This program is generously sponsored by Fenwick &\; Wes t and The American Psychiatric Association Foundation.

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