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Don’t Make Me Over

Dionne Warwick is a living legend whose six-decade career in music and LGBTQ activism is chronicled in this film, co-directed by David Heilbroner.

The core of the film is Warwick herself. Charismatic, outspoken, and stylish, she’s a great raconteur, chronicling her New Jersey roots, formative experiences singing in church, and early success at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. She also toured the southern US with Sam Cooke at the height of Jim Crow segregation, fighting back against racist humiliation. Her string of hits with Burt Bacharach and Hal David later took her to Europe, where she discovered that her music could bridge cultural divides.

Warwick’s testimonies are complemented by a galaxy of colleagues and admirers: Bacharach, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Alicia Keys, Bill Clinton, Carlos Santana, and Snoop Dogg.