Tyler Perry’s life is the subject of a new upcoming Prime Video film, Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story. Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz direct the film, which will premiere on Nov. 17.

The documentary is described as “a nod to Perry’s mother’s love and a tender, intimate portrait” of Perry, a “visionary and innovator.”

As many of Perry’s fans know, his childhood was filled with turmoil and abuse, but throughout the trauma, the relationship between him and his mother remained a constant. The relationship is also one that echoes throughout Perry’s plays and films, which focus on Black women rising above the circumstances and men who might try to tear them down.

According to the film’s description:

Writer, actor, filmmaker, studio head and media titan, Tyler Perry, is America’s consummate multihyphenate. But underneath this entertainment behemoth is a man working humbly to heal his childhood trauma by transforming his pain into promise. Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story, a nod to his mother’s love, is a tender and intimate portrait of visionary and innovator Tyler Perry: his harrowing but faithful road to the top of an industry that didn’t always include him. Nearly a decade in the making, with unfettered access, directors Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz lead us into the inner-world of a man, whose story has never fully been told, as he becomes a father and a media mogul with a mission to pave his own road to the top. The product is a profound lesson on remembering where you came from to know where you want to go.

The film is produced and distributed by Amazon Studios. Bekele produces via her production company Bekele Films. Jasmine K. White and Asante White also produce.

Gelila Bekele

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