David France (born 1959) is an American

investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, and filmmaker. He is a former ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' senior editor, and has published in ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', '' GQ'', and others. France, who is gay, is best known for his investigative journalism on

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

topics. He has been nominated for an Oscar and multiple Emmys, and has received two George Foster Peabody awards, a Lambda Literary Award, and the Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction. In June 2007, France appeared on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'' to discuss the scientific basis that

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

is genetic. In 2017, he appeared on

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

to discuss his film about

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...

activist

Marsha P. Johnson Marsha P. Johnson (August 24, 1945 – July 6, 1992) also known as Malcolm Michaels Jr., was an American gay liberation''I've been involved in gay liberation ever since it first started in 1969'', 15:20 into the interview, Johnson is quoted as ...

. In 2009, he co-founded Public Square Films with Joy A. Tomchin.

Early career

Journalism

France published his first pieces of reporting in Gay Community News in the early 1980s, and soon was assistant editor at the

New York Native The ''New York Native'' was a biweekly gay newspaper published by Charles Ortleb in New York City from December 1980 until January 13, 1997. It was the only gay paper in New York City during the early part of the AIDS epidemic, and pioneered repor ...

and contributor to the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

. His founding interest in journalism was the HIV/AIDS crisis. France had been reporting on the U.S. AIDS epidemic since its early years, having moved from

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in June 1981, just 2 weeks before the first newspaper report about the disease appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and living in the epicenter of the East Coast epidemic through its first decade, losing his boyfriend of 5 years to AIDS in 1992. After a short stint at the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', from which he was fired for being gay, he moved to Central America to work as a war correspondent covering the region's multiple crises in the mid-80s for

Religion News Service Religion News Service (RNS) is a news agency covering religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues. It publishes news, information, and commentaries on faiths and religious movements to newspapers, magazines, broadcast organizations and religio ...

and others. He spent many years writing for women's magazines, including

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

, where he was National Affairs Editor, before moving to ''

'' as Senior Editor in 1999 and

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

as Contributing Editor in 2001. His articles have been collected in a number of books and have won many awards. A 2007 article France wrote for '' GQ'', ''Dying to Come Out: The War On Gays in Iraq'', won a

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...

. He spent a year with the family of a boy who committed suicide and undertook a

forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...

approach in an article about it for the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

''. The piece, entitled "Broken Promises", which he wrote with Diane Salvatore, won a Mental Health America 'Excellence in Mental Health Journalism' award in 2008.

Awards and recognition

In 2012 he was named to the "OUT 100," the annual list of 100 LGBTQ "people of the year" published by Out Magazine. In 2019 he was awarded a MacDowell Fellowship from the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

and the Calderwood Journalism Fellowship for 2019, in support of long-form journalism. In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ

Pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, ''

Queerty ''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay-oriented lifestyle and news, founded in 2005 by David Hauslaib. As of June 2015, the site had more than five million monthly unique visitors. History ''Queerty'' was founded by David ...

'' named him among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".

Books

''Our Fathers''

France, who covered the

Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States There have been many lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and scandals over sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the United States of America. The issue of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests was first publicized in 1985 when a Louisia ...

for ''

'', turned his work into a well-reviewed and comprehensive history of the issue in the American church. "Stunning in its insight, ...France writes with compassion and intelligence," wrote John D. Thomas in the

Atlanta Journal & Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

. Writing in ''

'',

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

said: "No matter how thoroughly this material has been presented by other reporters, the effect of this cumulative retelling is devastating." The book was adapted by

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

for a film by the same name, which received multiple

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations and one from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

''The Confession''

Written with former

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...

, the book was a ''New York Times'' best seller, debuting at #3 in nonfiction hardcover sales and #1 in

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

. It chronicles the Governor's rise to power and the lengths to which he went to hide the fact of his gayness.

''How to Survive a Plague''

Published in 2016, ''How to Survive a Plague'' is considered "the definitive book on AIDS activism." A blend of scholarly history and first-hand witnessing, it is considered a sequel to (and correction of)

Randy Shilts Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951February 17, 1994) was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, Shilts began working as a reporter for both '' The Advocate'' and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', as wel ...

's ''

And the Band Played On ''And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic'' is a 1987 book by ''San Francisco Chronicle'' journalist Randy Shilts. The book chronicles the discovery and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immun ...

''. France weaves the intimate personal narratives of the most towering figures from that time --

Mathilde Krim Mathilde Krim ( he, מתילדה קרים; née Galland; July 9, 1926 – January 15, 2018) was a medical researcher and the founding chairman of amfAR, American Foundation for AIDS Research. Biography Mathilde Galland was born in Como, Italy t ...

, Joseph Sonnabend,

Larry Kramer Laurence David Kramer (June 25, 1935May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to Lo ...

Peter Staley Peter Staley (born January 9, 1961) is an American political activist, known primarily for his work in HIV/AIDS activism. As an early and influential member of ACT UP, New York, he founded both the Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the education ...

Michael Callen Michael Callen (April 11, 1955 – December 27, 1993) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, author, and AIDS activist. Callen was diagnosed with AIDS in 1982 and became a pioneer of AIDS activism in New York City, working closely with h ...

Robert Gallo Robert Charles Gallo (; born March 23, 1937) is an American biomedical researcher. He is best known for his role in establishing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( ...

Luc Montagnier Luc Montagnier (; , ; 18 August 1932 – 8 February 2022) was a French virologist and joint recipient, with and , of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He worked as a res ...

—into "a riveting, galvanizing account" of flawed personalities, nasty politics, human desperation, and clever resistance. He shows how the arrival of life-saving antiretrovirals in 1996 could not have happened without a scrappy band of ''citizen scientists'' pushing Big Pharma along. It won named to numerous best-of and top-ten lists, was a New York Times 100 Notable Books for 2016, and was one of the best-reviewed books of the year. "Powerful...This superbly written chronicle will stand as a towering work in its field, the best book on the pre-treatment years of the epidemic since Randy Shilts's And The Band Played On… Most of the people to whom it bears witness are not around to read it, but millions are alive today thanks to their efforts, and this moving record will ensure their legacy does not die with them." –Sunday Times The book won the

Baillie Gifford Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its m ...

, the Green Carnation Prize, the

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

(nonfiction) from the American Library Association, the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

, Publishers' Triangle Best Nonfiction award, and the

National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of LGBTQ issues in the media. It is based in Washington, D.C., and the membership consists primarily of journalists, students, edu ...

Book Prize. It was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, and shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called it one of the 10 best nonfiction books of the 2010s, and ''Slate'' named it one of the 50 best of the past 25 years.

Films

''How to Survive a Plague''

France's documentary film ''How to Survive a Plague'', about the early years of the U.S. AIDS epidemic, was released in 2012, four years before his eponymous book. As director and producer, France made use of a wide range of archive footage from the height of the American AIDS crisis to create a feature documentary ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine called ''the Best Documentary of the year.'' The film premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

in 2012, won numerous festival awards worldwide, and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, a

Directors Guild The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and two Emmys, and it won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

a Gotham Award, and a GLAAD award. In addition, France received The

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

Award (given to a first time documentary or narrative feature filmmaker) from the

Provincetown International Film Festival The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short films f ...

, the Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award from the

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

, and the

New York Film Critics Circle The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic organization founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale from the New York ''Daily News''. Its membership includes over 30 film critics from New York-based daily and weekly newspapers, magaz ...

award for Best First Film, the group's first time to honor a documentary filmmaker.

''The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson''

In 2017, France released the documentary, ''The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson'', which he directed. The film portrays the life of

, a prominent activist in the late 1960s through the early 1990s, and follows the re-opened investigation into Johnson's suspicious death. It was acquired by Netflix in June 2017. The film premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017, and debuted on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 6 October 2017. In October 2017, trans activist

Tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety of colors. The ...

alleged David France used her work to create ''The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson''. France denied the allegation and two independent investigations, published in ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'' and '' The Advocate'', found Gossett's/Tourmaline's allegations to be baseless. The film went on to win numerous festival awards and earn positive reviews—96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. In ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'', the critic

David Edelstein David Edelstein (born 1959) is a freelance American film critic who has been the principal film critic for ''Slate'' and ''New York'' magazine, among others, and has appeared regularly on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' and ''CBS Sunday Morning'' programs. O ...

called the film "shattering;"

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

called it "essential for anyone interested in learning how to make a loud-and-proud stink."

''Welcome to Chechnya''

France's 2020 film, ''Welcome to Chechnya'', premiered at the

2020 Sundance Film Festival The 2020 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 23 to February 2, 2020. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 4, 2019. The opening night film was ''Miss Americana'' directed by Lana Wilson and produced by Morgan ...

Mike Fleming, Jr
"HBO Documentary Films Lands Sundance-Bound 'Welcome To Chechnya', About Harsh Plight Of LGBTQ Community In Russian Republic"
''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'', December 12, 2019. and was released on June 30, 2020, by

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non-fi ...

. It follows the work of activists rescuing survivors of torture in the anti-gay pogroms of Chechnya, and features footage that was shot in secret, using hidden cameras, cell phones, GoPros, and handycams. To protect the identities of asylum seekers,

deepfake Deepfakes (a portmanteau of "deep learning" and "fake") are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness. While the act of creating fake content is not new, deepfakes leverage powerful ...

technology was used to replace the faces and voices of subjects with face and voice doubles in a way that allowed viewers to see real faces displaying real emotions. "Chechnya" was shortlisted for an Oscar in the VFX category, a first for any documentary. Critics hailed the film as "an essential work of documentary,"Glenn Dunk
"Pride Month Doc Corner: 'Welcome to Chechnya' is brave, confronting cinema"
'' The Film Experience'', June 24, 2020. "astonishingly groundbreaking," Monica Castill
"Welcome to Chechnya"
''Roger Ebert'', June 30, 2020. and "easily one of the most searing and vital documentaries of the year. This masterful documentary from David France weaves high-stakes storytelling and investigative reporting to expose the ongoing situation, resulting in an unforgettable film. "Norman Gibne
"‘Welcome to Chechnya’: Film Review"''Film Threat
'', June 29, 2020. It has won over 20 international awards, including the International Television and Seigenthaler Prize from RFK Human Rights. and a BAFTA. ''Bafta.org'', June 2, 2021 "''Welcome to Chechnya'' further establishes France as America’s foremost documentarian on LGBTQ issues,” wrote Guy Lodge in Variety (magazine), Variety.Guy Lodg
"‘Welcome to Chechnya’: Film Review" ''Variety (magazine), Variety
'', January 27, 2020.

References

External links

* *
Broken Promises: The Truth About Teen Suicide
, ''

''
Dying to Come Out: The War On Gays in Iraq
" '' GQ'', 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:France, David 1959 births Living people Kalamazoo College alumni American investigative journalists American newspaper reporters and correspondents Writers from New York City LGBT journalists from the United States LGBT film directors LGBT people from Michigan American gay writers American documentary filmmakers Writers from Kalamazoo, Michigan Lambda Literary Award winners Stonewall Book Award winners 21st-century LGBT people