In 2010, Pedro writers Dustin Lance Black and Paris Barclay were nominated for a WGA Award. Pedro also received a Humanitas Prize nomination and a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.
He passes away on November 11, 1994. Footage of Pedro Zamora and Sean Sasser's real-life commitment ceremony from The Real World is shown, over which title cards describe what happened to the others in the story.
Writer Dustin Lance Black was approached by Director Paris Barclay with the idea for the project in 2003. Black, who is gay, was an avid fan of The Real World: San Francisco, on which Pedro Zamora was a cast member, though Black himself was still in the closet at the time that it originally aired. Black was inspired by Zamora's decision to become a public educator, despite the bigoted attacks that he suffered. Black was further motivated by the state of the AIDS epidemic at the time of the film's production, commenting that "Pedro's message is getting lost", and hoping that the film might motivate young people to continue Zamora's work. Barclay inquired with Bunim-Murray, the company that produces The Real World for MTV, and which ultimately produced Pedro, and learned that there had been attempts in the past, but which had failed to reach fruition. Barclay also approached former cast members Judd Winick and Pam Ling, explaining to them his vision to movie in order to seek their blessing and their assistance with its production. Lance Black also interviewed other people who had been close to Zamora, including his widower, Sean Sasser.
In late 2008, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, with Zamora's older sister Mily in attendance. Mily reacted emotionally to the experience, and lauded the film for having accurately captured her brother and his message.
The film aired on MTV on April 1, 2009 before the season finale of The Real World: Brooklyn.
In 2010, Pedro Writers Dustin Lance Black and Paris Barclay were nominated for a WGA Award. Pedro also received a Humanitas Prize nomination and a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.
