Katherine Fairfax Wright is the director, editor, and cinematographer of “Call Me Kuchu,” the story of the last year in the life of the first openly gay man in Uganda. Wright produced “Imperial Dreams,” starring John Boyega and “Gabi on the Roof in July.”

“Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall” will premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival on March 11.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

KW: In a sense, “Behind the Curtain” is a music doc that follows Todrick Hall during the creation of the three segments of “Straight Outta Oz” — the album, the visual album, and the stage show.

But “Straight Outta Oz” is an autobiographical project, so the documentary is also an intimate coming of age story, a love story between a mother and son — in all its beauty and complexity. It’s about self-expression, self-acceptance, and the redemptive power of art, but it’s also about fun, friends, song, and dance!

W&H: What drew you to this story?

KW: I didn’t know who Todrick was prior to Matt Kaplan at Awesomeness bringing him to my attention. So I just started googling him, and within a couple hours I called Matt and told him I wanted to do the project. The trailer for “Straight Outta Oz” had already been released, which piqued my interest because it’s visually and musically enchanting, and also because it’s in many ways a tonal, aesthetic, and thematic departure from Todrick’s prior work.

And where there’s a departure, there’s a story! Todrick is an astonishing lyricist, and strikes such a beautiful balance between gravitas, levity, wit, musicality, universality, and individuality — I was really impressed by that. I believe deeply in inclusion, in ingenuity, and in costumes, and Todrick’s shared admiration of that trifecta was immediately apparent in his work.

Todrick is also just a super captivating presence onscreen, which is part of why I was so smitten, part of why he has garnered such a following, and part of why I wanted to spend nine months studying him.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

KW: That you can rap in baritone while looking mighty fine in stilettos and a dress, that uplifting those around makes you float to the top too, that being a trailblazing star doesn’t mean being flawless, that being an extraordinary mother doesn’t mean being a perfect mother, that success doesn’t mitigate challenge, and that the caliber of your work and the quality of your soul will only be as high as the standard you set for yourself.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

KW: Everything was mania from the get-go. I got the camera and began filming the next day, which was only a couple days after I had first met Todrick, and only a few days after I had first learned about him. Todrick works at lightning speed, morning, noon, and night — and then straight into the next morning, day after day.

In order to do the story justice, I was really insistent on being around for every moment, so it quickly became a huge undertaking. Even just finding time and space to dump my footage and charge batteries became troublesome, especially once the tour started and my cousin — -who I hired as my field producer for the tour — and I were sleeping in, and working from, the back lounge of the bus.

And to further complicate things, it was only a matter of hours at the beginning of the shoot before I became deeply entwined in the world of Todrick, and found myself trying to make a documentary, while also making my best effort to ensure that “Straight Outta Oz”was the best version of itself by helping with Todrick’s production needs wherever I could.

I’m not so great at playing the innocent bystander — and I am very great at getting in over my head! But Todrick was in over his head too, so I was in good company, and it was exhilarating to exert ourselves so fully.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

KW: The one glorious luxury I had on this film was a modest, but assured budget. Awesomeness Films did a magnificent job of picking up the tab and providing a functional business infrastructure and brainpower, while also leaving largely me to my own devices, and letting Todrick and I just go off and make a movie.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at SXSW?

KW: I’m a very happy camper to have this film at SXSW, especially considering that it was only nine months ago that I came to know Todrick even existed — what a fateful surprise. It’s also quite special to be premiering in Texas, where Todrick is from, where a large portion of “Straight Outta Oz” takes place, and where much of “Behind the Curtain” was filmed.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

KW: I don’t always find broad-stroke advice super applicable. What’s been most helpful are the piecemeal, granular crumbs of wisdom I’ve gleaned along the way. I think it’s really important to understand your industry on myriad levels, really try to learn how, where, and why things work, and then from within that place of understanding, follow your intuition.

At every vocational crossroad, I tend to canvas as many trusted people as I can: what’s your experience with this camera, that country, this distribution model, that film festival, this contract clause, that methodology. The cumulative impact of that registry has been profound, I harken back to peoples’ thoughts all the time.

It’s not all golden nuggets of knowledge — peoples’ opinions come from all sorts of motives and worldviews and value-sets — but no perspective is invalid. And learning what’s important to whom and why illuminates a lot, and ultimately makes your job as a storyteller and as a story-seller more fruitful.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

KW: Strike a balance between following your intuition and performing due diligence.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

KW: I suppose I could say something like Kimberly Peirce’s “Boys Don’t Cry” or Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail,” but I’d also love to tip my hat to the movies that I watched over and over and over again growing up, like “A League of The Own,” and Amy Heckerling’s films such as “Look Who’s Talking” and “Clueless.”

They’re films made by ladies, but I also essentially learned how to be a lady somewhere between Dottie, Kit, Mollie, Cher, and her pals. Furthermore, thinking back on the influence those characters had on my perception of what constitutes identity, femininity, strength, etc. further validates Todrick’s emphasis on representation in media. Seeing people who look, feel, and act like you is important, because imagery has an undeniably indelible impact on audiences.

W&H: There have been significant conversations over the last couple of years about increasing the amount of opportunities for women directors yet the numbers have not increased. Are you optimistic about the possibilities for change? Share any thoughts you might have on this topic.

KW: Thus far, I’ve been fortunate enough to not really have experienced many roadblocks based on my gender — not that I’ve been cognizant of, at least. So I suppose I’ll just continue with business as usual, and in so doing, hopefully play my part in swaying the numbers.