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Manuel Betancourt

@bmanuel

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Interim Editor, Documentary magazine
Film critic/culture writer
📚 Hello Stranger (2025)
📚 The Male Gazed (2023)
📚 Judy at Carnegie Hall (2020)

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PUB DAY!

It’s finally here! My new book HELLO STRANGER is out today. You can get it wherever books are sold (you can even get it as an e-book and as an audiobook as well, narrated by yours truly!)

It’s been a whirlwind of a year but I’m so proud of this book which LA Times call “a lively and intelligent addition to essential discourse on how not only accessing our desires but also being open about them can make us more human, and perhaps, make for a better world.” taken in Los Angeles, California by @bmanuel

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2 years ago

WEEK 1 PRESS BLITZ!

1. A Case for Hookups With Strangers, Jake Nevins at The New York Times
2. A Culture That’s Ready for a Different Kind of Close-Up, Jessica Ferri at Los Angeles Times
3. Publisher’s Weekly review
4. Kirkus Reviews review
5. Book Excerpt at Electric Literature
6. Book Excerpt at Queerty
7. Q&A with Dez Deshaies at Foglifter
8. Interview with Rob Salerno at LA/Washington Blade
9. Q&A with Adam Vitcavage at Debutiful
10. Q&A with Michael Colbert at Referential
11. That’s A Gay Ass Podcast
12. Can’t Host Podcast by @bmanuel

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2 years ago

PUB DAY!

My book HELLO STRANGER: MUSINGS ON MODERN INTIMACIES is finally out! You can get it wherever books are sold (yes, even in e-book & audiobook versions!)

This book is an extended meditation on flirting, a study on chance encounters with strangers; but above all it’s an interrogation on the very intimacies we should nurture in our everyday lives.

📸 @mcwhorterphotography taken in Los Angeles, California by @bmanuel

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2 years ago

Hello 42 🎂

📸 @itinto taken in Downtown Los Angeles by @bmanuel

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4 days ago

The last year in landscapes, from Hollywood signs and galaxies far far away to movie lots and motel stops, from Vegas and Pasadena to Belgrade and Cannes, from desert dancing and Palm Springs palm trees to Hawaiian scenery and New York cityscapes. taken in Los Angeles, California by @bmanuel

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4 days ago

A day late but it’s always a good time to celebrate and read up on Peter Hujar (born Oct 11, 1934)

A Hujar pic (Christopher Street Pier (2)) has been my locked screen background for over a decade and I briefly wrote about his photography work in Hello Stranger and the way his work captured a well-worn intimacy between his friends, many of whom he photographed in the nude. by @bmanuel

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6 days ago

On October 10, 2010 (!) I posted my very first Instagram post.

It’s hard not to reflect on how this app has changed me and my relationships (with myself and my body; with my friend and my partners; with strangers and readers…) but today, I’m thankful for the DMs, the aggressively unflattering filters, the needless hashtags, and, yes, all of you who 💜 and 🔥 my pics, still.

To celebrate, here’s an OG-looking Insta selfie (and 15 others… yes, including the very first one from 2010)! by @bmanuel

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8 days ago

Quintessential LA 🌴 taken in LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art by @bmanuel

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14 days ago

Currently reading 🌴 taken in Los Angeles, California by @bmanuel

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a month ago

Looking ahead 😎

Always love playful times with @photos.moodyface, who lets me live out my modeling fantasies and does wonders with his camera to make them come true. by @bmanuel

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2 months ago

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️As Pride Month comes to a close, we’re sharing an exclusive clip from IT’S DOROTHY! featuring writer and critic @bmanuel , who examines the enduring mythology surrounding Judy Garland and the Stonewall uprising, and why the story continues to resonate within queer history.

What are your thoughts on Judy’s connection to Stonewall? We’d love to hear them below. 🌈

IT’S DOROTHY! is now streaming on @primevideo @peacock and available on digital VOD platforms.

#Pride #Stonewall #JudyGarland #itsdorothy #LGBTQHistory taken in The Stonewall Inn by @bmanuel

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4 months ago

One of my proudest accomplishments at IDA/Documentary magazine this year: putting together this fab zine with 50 docs from this century you should def watch if you haven’t already. by @bmanuel

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2 months ago