Daniels: 'Making 'Precious' was healing'

Lee Daniels has revealed that making the film Precious helped him deal with painful issues from his own childhood.

The movie tells the story of a pregnant teenager who is sexually abused by her father and beaten by her mother.

Director Daniels told Vanity Fair that he had been through similar experiences while growing up because he was gay.

He stated: "My dad wanted me to be a strong man and I was walking downstairs in my mother's red high-heeled pumps.

"He couldn't beat it out of me... I made this movie to heal - and hopefully to heal others."

Precious is currently on limited release in the US, and will be released in the UK on January 29, 2010.