Gus van Sant directs this political biopic telling the story of California's first openly gay elected public official, Harvey Milk. Sean Penn won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the New Yorker who became known as a gay rights activist after moving to San Francisco in the early 1970s. After two failed attempts to become elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, Milk finally made it onto the board in 1977 - but only served for a matter of months before he and the city's mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) were shot to death by right-wing rival Dan White (Josh Brolin).