Imagine Dragons' New Documentary Will Give Voice to Mormon LGBT Youth
Imagine Dragons is known for their hit singles like "Thunder," but their latest venture will go beyond the music to stand for an important cause.
The band's upcoming documentary, titled Believer, will focus on LGBT youth in the Mormon community. Released earlier this year and premiering on HBO in June, the film was started as part of singer Dan Reynolds' journey in becoming an activist and LGBT ally.
Believer focuses on his drive to make space for Mormon youth who were struggling with their LGBT identities. In the trailer for the film, Reynolds shares one of the countless emails that he's received from fans who feel invisible and silenced in the Mormon community for being queer, but also fear not being accepted.
"I know that there's so many people out there like this. If I'm passive, I feel like I am standing up, then, for bigotry," he says.
The film follows Reynolds and his Imagine Dragons bandmates as they put together Love Loud, a festival in Utah where everyone is encouraged to come together to enjoy music and uplift the silenced voices of local LGBT youth.
This year's fest aims to raise $1 million for various charities, including local LGBT organization like Encircle, Trevor Project, and the Tegan & Sara Foundation. Now an annual event, this year's festival will include performances from Zedd, Mike Shinoda, and Grace VanderWaal, among others.
"We want it to be a safe space for everybody to feel the love and acceptance together for LGBTQ," Reynolds says in the new Believer trailer.
Believer premieres June 25 on HBO.