Even though the Black Lives Matter hashtag was coined by a group of three Black queer women, the lost lives that the movement often centers on straight cisgender Black men have made many wonder which Black lives actually matter. The new documentary, Beyond Ed Buck, directed by Jayce Baron and Hailie Sahar (Pose) and streaming on ALLBLK, thoughtfully anchors the tragic deaths of two gay Black men Gemmel Moore in 2017 and Timothy Dean in 2019 at the hands of Ed Buck , a white, gay, wealthy Democratic donor in West Hollywood.

Buck was convicted on nine felony charges in 2021 for injecting young gay men with methamphetamine in exchange for sex. For years he preyed on vulnerable Black men and evaded prosecution because of his wealth and his race. The film asks why a predator was allowed to do this time and time again. Better yet: Why did so many of us do and say nothing?

Five years in the making, the film pieces together the timeline before their deaths using news footage and commentary from those who knew the men, but, like its title, it goes beyond the work of traditional true crime documentaries. With the help of Raniyah Copeland, former president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, psychologist Gregory Canillas, award-winning author George M. Johnson, journalist Shar Jossell and many more, Beyond Ed Buck ushers in a nuanced conversation about how structural racism, homophobia and poverty make it easy for the Ed Bucks of the world to prey on gay and bisexual Black men.

Most important, the film doesnt stop there. It includes Black trans womens voices to ensure that viewers understand that the trans community encounters the same type of violence and systems of oppression as their gay, lesbian and bisexual counterparts, if not worse. Because no one in the community can walk away unscathed by Bucks legacy, no one can be left out of the conversation.

Sahar and Baron sat down with HuffPost to talk about the importance of thinking beyond Ed Buck, the importance of airing their documentary on Black media and what everyone can do to become a better ally to Black LGBTQ people.

Beyond Ed Buck is such a well-researched and thoughtful film that does go beyond the true crime element. What inspired you to make this film in this way?