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Poster for Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story
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Released
2025 · FILM

Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story

Directed by
Written by
Runtime
117 min
BiographyCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Based on a powerful true-life story, Detroit native Dwen Curry moves to Oakland, California as a teen in the early 90s and overcomes depression, suicidal thoughts and drug addiction. He finds success as a salon owner and celebrity stylist to LisaRaye McCoy, Mariah Carey, YoYo, Missy Elliot, DMX, and more. Fueled by his desire for a lavish lifestyle and a drive to take care of those around him, Dwen leads a secret life as the criminal mastermind of an underground organization known as the Gay Gangsters, making millions from fraud. Dwen's life is even more complicated by his sexuality, identity, and struggles with self-acceptance as Dwen journeys from being a gay man to fully accepting herself as transgender. Dwen's rise to celebrity is followed by her fall when she is convicted for wire fraud and sent to prison. This coming of age tale is filled with glitz, glamour, and gangster moves as we witness Dwen's trials and eventual triumphs to survive and stand strong in her authentic truth.

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 20

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Charles JonesShot by Michael StreetDesigned by Leslie Allen

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