A Time of Change: Confronting AIDS(1986)

Beat Goes On(en)

Beat Goes On is an impressionistic portrait of the activist Keith Cylar (1958–2004), co-founder of Housing Works and a central figure in the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP) NY. Cylar spoke clearly, frequently and with moral force about the struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City, many of whom were impoverished and struggling with multiple social and medical problems. His openness about his own drug use and the centrality of the fight against the criminalization of drugs for AIDS activism make Cylar's legacy especially resonant and relevant at this time. Commissioned by Visual AIDS in 2019 as part of STILL BEGINNING, a program of seven short videos responding to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Cashing Out(en)

At the height of the AIDS crisis, many gay men sold their life insurance policies to investors for quick cash. This documentary charts the rise and fall of the hundred-million-dollar “gay-death-profiteering” industry that grew out of their desperation, and spotlights one of its earliest investors: the filmmaker’s father.

It Will Always End in the End(fr)

Gabriel Drolet-Maguire, a designer living in Montreal, takes us into their artistic world to discuss their HIV diagnosis. This is a timely and hopeful look at past and present day HIV/AIDS activism in Quebec.

Honorable Ronald V. Dellums: San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards 2005(en)

Honorable Ronald V. Dellums, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2005 Community Leadership Awards (Robert C. Kirkwood Award) - for his decades of courage, leadership, and vision in championing peace, justice, diversity, and economic equality, both locally and globally, and for his impact in moving the AIDS pandemic and its solutions to the top of the global agenda.

Nous sommes éternels(fr)

Something Has Happened(sv)

As the AIDS epidemic was spreading in 1987, the Swedish government commissioned Roy Andersson to make an educational film about the disease. In these twenty or so monotone scenes, Andersson criticizes the medical community for its dehumanizing and racist tendencies when researching HIV and AIDS.

Curtis(en)

"CURTIS (2004, Sundance, documentary, 35 min) is a loving portrait of Curtis Wheeler (1950-2003), a dancer and artist fighting to keep his independence and dignity as the end of hi struggle with HIV-AIDS takes him in and out of hospice case." (First Encounter Productions)

The Real Anthony Fauci(en)

Different experts make a stand against today's putatively criminal and harmful health system, focusing on Anthony Fauci and his role in the shaping of the AIDS and COVID-19 epidemics.

Bishop Yvette A. Flunder: San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards 2011(en)

The San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards presents Bishop Yvette A. Flunder, founder and director of Ark of Refuge, with the Robert C. Kirkwood Award for courageously addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS prevention, response, and care within the African American faith community. As a pastor, scholar, teacher, and activist, she has united gospel and social ministries to create unique programs that improve the quality of life of some of the most marginalized in our community.

The Announcement(en)

On Thursday, Nov. 7, 1991, Earvin "Magic" Johnson made people stop and watch at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. But this time it wasn't his basketball brilliance as a perennial NBA All-Star and three-time MVP that was captivating audiences worldwide. Instead, the 32-year-old groundbreaking point guard was holding a press conference to make the stunning announcement that he was HIV-positive and would be retiring from basketball immediately.

Artistes en zones troublés(fr)

Daily spleen, drunkenness among friends, conversations and the passage of time: the video diaries composed by Lionel Soukaz chronicle the early 1990s, the comet tail of those never-ending winter years and the nightmare of the AIDS years. But edited thirty years later with Stéphane Gérard, they are also a tribute to Hervé Couergou, the beloved partner at the center of all the filmed scenes. Slowly, in conversations between couples and friends, the dandy spirit and intimate confession overlap. What emerges is a portrait of a way of dealing with the times and their pain, which, beneath the act of commemoration, seeks to inscribe a living presence.

What is AIDS?(en)

One of the most controversial subjects of the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic ended thousands of lives across America. This video, entitled What is AIDS helps educate the youth of America about the deadly disease.

Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within(en)

The story behind the Uganda-based YouTube dance sensations who have endured devastating personal loss from famine and war, and use the power of dance and song to overcome hardship.

Three Letters: La Mamma Morta(en)

'La Mamma Morta’ is an aria from the opera Andrea Chenier that is also well-known for its use in a memorable sequence in the Oscar award-winning Philadelphia. Thirty years on, this new short film from WNO includes a brand-new recording of the aria featured alongside recreated scenes that better encapsulate the perspectives of people living with HIV today. To mark World AIDS Day 2023, the Welsh National Orchestra released a special new version of La mamma morta, featuring WNO Orchestra, soprano Camilla Roberts and Nathaniel Hall from Channel 4’s It’s a Sin. Released as part of the last rendition in the Three Letters project, this film aims to tackle societal stigma around HIV.

United in Anger: A History of ACT UP(en)

United in Anger: A History of ACT UP is an inspiring documentary about the birth and life of the AIDS activist movement from the perspective of the people in the trenches fighting the epidemic. Utilizing oral histories of members of ACT UP, as well as rare archival footage, the film depicts the efforts of ACT UP as it battles corporate greed, social indifference, and government negligence.

The Boy Who Found Gold(en)

William Hart McNichols is a world renowned artist, heralded by Time magazine as "among the most famous creators of Christian iconic images in the world". As a young Catholic priest from 1983-1990 he was immersed in a life-altering journey working as a chaplain at St. Vincent's AIDS hospice in New York city. It was during this time that he became an early pioneer for LGBT rights within the Catholic church. "The Boy Who Found Gold" is a cinematic journey into the art and spirit of William Hart McNichols. The film follows his colorful life as he crosses paths with presidents, popes, martyrs, and parishioners, finding an insightful lesson with each encounter. McNichols' message as a priest, artist and man speaks to the most powerful element of the human spirit: Mercy.

Filament Fortune(en)

HIV-positive bodies stage a reverse-arranging of flowers, stitched together with personal accounts of living with stigmatised illness.

La ultima noche de Sonia Martinez(es)

Voices of Positive Women(en)

Voices of Positive Women is a ground-breaking documentary examination of the impact of HIV and AIDS on the lives of women working from material published in the book "Positive Women", a collection of personal accounts of women from all over the world living with AIDS and HIV. Bravely sharing their experiences publicly in what until now has been a void of information and support, and in some cases medical and bureaucratic denial that women are even at risk, the nine women presented in Voices of Positive Women speak compellingly on their own terms of their personal struggles for survival and voice.

The Beauty President(en)

In 1992, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, activist Terence Alan Smith made a historic bid for president of the United States as his drag queen persona Joan Jett Blakk. Today, Smith reflects back on his seminal civil rights campaign and its place in American history.