May we all be as blessed as beloved genderqueer poet laureate Andrea Gibson who, in the last year of their storied life, got to see it committed to the big screen by way of a loving and intimate documentary. Gibson passed away in July, after they were able to not only participate in the making of Ryan White’s documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light,” but to attend and celebrate its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
And while the last thing we would do is put words in Gibson’s mouth — poet laureate! they did the whole word thing just fine on their own! — we suspect that Gibson would want viewers to enjoy White’s documentary, not cry over it. Consider it a celebration, not a wake, and what a beautiful one at that. The film’s first trailer make that very clear.
While White and nearly everyone else who worked on the film (including Gibson) expected that it would end with Gibson’s death from aggressive ovarian cancer, it didn’t. Gibson was even able to attend the film’s premiere in Park City, Utah, a wonderful, tear-stained celebration of their remarkable life and their seemingly indomitable spirit.
“We entered it thinking, at least I did, that it was going to be a film about Andrea’s death,” White told IndieWire at Sundance. “And while we were shooting it, we started to understand, this is not a film about dying. It is a film about mortality, but it is all about living and the time that we have on this Earth. So why does the hero have to die in the end?”
Since it premiered at Sundance in January, the film has merited a ton of festival accolades, including wins for Sundance Film Festival Festival Favorite, San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award, Seattle International Film Festival Best Documentary, Hot Docs Audience Award, Cleveland International Film Festival Audience Award, Provincetown International Film Festival Audience Award, Boulder International Film Festival Audience and Best Feature Doc, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Audience Award, Calgary International Film Festival International Documentary Audience Choice Award, and Port Townsend Film Festival Best Documentary Feature.
The documentary is directed by White, who also produces alongside Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, and Stef Willen. “Come See Me in the Good Light” will be releases in select theaters and stream globally on Apple TV on November 14, 2025. Check out the film’s latest trailer below.