In 1970s Britain, Tony Powell was a star defender for Norwich City Football Club — until one day he disappeared from the public eye without a word to family or friends. Decades and seemingly a lifetime later, Tony now quietly resides at the Holloway Motel in the heart of West Hollywood as its manager and sole resident (apart from his dog Samantha). However, after he learns the motel is shuttering and he’ll soon be evicted, Tony must finally reconcile his past and present in order to survive and come to terms with the multifaceted relationships of his life: those he’s found, lost and abandoned.

Integrating and crossing between LGBTQ+ history and sports-themed genre modes, directors Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman peel away the secrets of Powell’s near-forgotten history and bring together a documentary portrait that is deeply empathetic and unflinchingly investigative. Tony Powell — ambiguously guarded at times and stunningly confessional in others, though constantly surprising — provides us a fascinating, twisty and moving case of the complexities of family dynamics, both blood-related and chosen. With dramatic revelations and a sure-handed approach, this film explores what it can take to ask and grant forgiveness, and if it’s ever too late to try to come home.—Sam Hood

Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman