There are so many different people from all walks of life that long to find a safe space to be accepted. The demographics that often find it the most difficult to fully be accepted in all spaces without judgement are people of color and the LGBTQ community. What if you identify with both of those labels? It can be hard to be a Black male, but imagine how much harder it is to be a gay Black male in society.
Assembly, directed and produced by Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symons, explores many topics within the lives of LGBTQ individuals. While doing so, he shows the work that goes into redesigning a facility into a euphoric world for performances. Dancers come from all over to express themselves, fight back through movement, and showcase their identity through their art. They come together to tackle stereotypes, injustice, and much more all while building strength in their unified community. The documentary is integrated with gorgeous visuals that play in front of you as several people tell their individual stories of personal moments that have affected them through their journey to discovering who they are.
One of the most powerful tools Newsome and Symons use is the storytelling narrative. Listening to Black trans women and queer men tell personal moments that have shaped their story really tug at your heartstrings. One male describes how difficult it was for him to dress up when performing after he was sexually assaulted in the past. He tells Newsome how he isn’t fully comfortable wearing wigs and nails to perform as the person who assaulted him requested those things during the act. It was beautiful to see how the young man opened up to Newsome and they embraced with a hug, which is the overall message of Assembly.
The documentary has a very loud message of how they want to create a democratic safe space for everyone to speak up and say how they really feel. It’s a platform that welcomes and empowers the Black queer community that is otherwise neglected. When they step out there to dance, they are givn an opportunity to live their truth and not be judged. Some of the pieces shown throughout the film show people with the biggest smiles on their faces. You can tell how liberating it is to be themselves in their own skin.
Newsome engages with an AI robot he designed that is rather intelligent and responds as a human would. Not only is it verbal, but the movements are very much the exaggerated motions of how a flamboyant individual might be. Including this did wonders for Assembly as it showcases that AI can be as you design it and straight isn’t the only way. One part in particular that stands out is the virtual robot speaking on a screen with lingo and tone that is very much Black. The camera pans to the audience and it is mostly a sea of white faces receiving the powerful message of inclusion.
This was deep, as it showed how open some people outside of our race and background are and that they’re very much invested in hearing what Newsome was presenting. Another narrating voice tells the viewer how the sounds that they dance and move to are the ones that the queen community find soothing and peaceful, all while visuals of nature play around them. On the topic of what Assembly means to them, another voice tells us, “This whole experience has been life changing for me…we’ve never had opportunities to exist this loudly.”
Assembly highlights what happens when a safe space is provided for the Black queer and LGBTQ community to truly thrive and be their authentic self through expressions of dance. It is a community that loves and supports one another, leans on eachother, and is extremely focused on changing the future through love. It starts at a young age where parents can now have these conversions of acceptance and owning your identity with their kids.
There’s a beautiful scene with two young Black girls chit-chatting about Barbies and they mention how the dolls don’t look like them, but their tone spoke volumes. It was clear their parents had taught them that it is okay because there are now dolls that look like everyone. The powerful message of living your truth was so beautifully pieced together through visuals and faces from every color, shape, and size. No matter what you identify as, you can appreciate what Assembly has to offer as it stands to show we should not judge anyone and we should accept everyone. Newsome and Symons used some extremely creative ways to paint this picture and tell the story of the resilience found within a broken community.
Each story perfectly contributed to the documentary and ultimately became the backbone of the film. After seeing it, you will understand now more than every how important it is to uplift and embrace people from all walks of life as some may find it hard to live within their own skin. That all changes with us and creating a safe space.
Assembly premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.