AIDS Filmography
updated (12/01)

AIDS changing the rules. 1987. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Documentary concerning the risk and prevention of AIDS among heterosexual adults. Includes a 30 minute panel discussion. VHS 466

AIDS in the barrio = Eso no me pasa a mi. 1988. 1 videocassette (30 min.). Discusses the causes and effects of AIDS in the Hispanic community through interviews with AIDS sufferers, their families, and members of the community at large. Drug abuse, cultural attitudes toward condom use and toward homosexuality, and the economic causes of drug abuse in the barrio are covered, as well as the role of family and friends in comforting and helping AIDS victims. Measures to prevent the spread of AIDS to wives and women friends of drug users and bi-sexual men are also discussed. VHS 3073

And the band played on. 1993. 1 videocassette (140 min.). Follows the struggle of a handful of strong-willed men and women who took on the fight to save lives in the face of a mysterious illness now called AIDS. VHS 2931

Blue. 1995. 1 videocassette (76 min.). "Over the blue screen (an homage to painter Yves Klein, as well as a metaphor for blindness, for paradise, for oblivion), Derek Jarman lays bare his physical and spiritual state in a narration about his life, his struggle with AIDS and his encroaching sightlessness ..."--Container. VHS 3821

Common threads: Stories from the quilt. 1989. 1 videocassette (80 min.). The story of the AIDS Memorial Quilt established by the San Francisco NAMES Project Foundation in 1987 to commemorate the lives lost to AIDS.  From the thousands memorialized in the quilt, profiles five individuals - including a recovered IV drug user, a former Olympic decathlon star and a boy with hemophilia - whose stories reflect the diversity and common tragedy of those who have died from AIDS.  Celebrates their unique personalities and achievements, interweaving these personal histories with a chronology of the epidemic's development and the negligence of the government. VHS 806 and VDD 193

Fire in our house. 1995. 1 videocassette (10 min.). Illustrates the impact that needle exchange programs have had on users, their families and communities. Intended to increase awareness of AIDS and grassroots participation in prevention programs. VHS 3339

Growing up in the age of AIDS. 1992. 1 videocassette (75 min.). Geared toward teenagers, this is a discussion of the issues, facts and fallacies surrounding AIDS. Filmed before a live audience, with the Surgeon General Antonia Novello and leading experts answering questions from the audience and callers from around the country. VHS 2151

The heart of the matter. 1994. 1 videocassette (54 min.). Documentary on women afflicted with AIDS. Focuses on the life and death of Janice Jirau, an African American woman, who was infected with the virus by her husband. Following his death and her diagnosis with the HIV virus, she became politically active and publicly sought to challenge the mythology of the disease. Interviews with other HIV-positive women underscore the universal nature of the problems Janice confronted and draws attention to the alarming growth of this epidemic among women.    VHS 4633

An Historical portrait for the age of AIDS: Simple courage. 1992. 1 videocassette (53 min.). Documents the treatment of leprosy victims in Hawaii in the 19th  and early 20th century when leprosy was seen as a curse from God, a punishment for immoral sexual behavior. One man, Damien de Veuster (Father Damien), cared for and brought comfort to these "untouchables" for 16 years before he himself succumbed to the disease. Using archival footage and interviews with survivors from the '30s and 40's, this program shows how the emotional pain of banishment added to the ravages of the disease.  While leprosy and AIDS are very different diseases, their sufferers share the same fears and stigma and their fight for humane treatment draws them together. VHS 4057

Longtime companion. 1990. 1 videocassette (100 min.). Drama concerning the AIDS crisis which focuses on a small group of friends from the time they first read about AIDS in the New York through the 1980s as they face the impact of the disease on themselves and their friends. VHS 2550

MacNeil/Lehrer news hour, April 12, 1990. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.). First segment: Robert MacNeill interviews Lawrence Walsh, independent counsel for the Iran-Contra investigation, shortly after the conviction of Admiral John Poindexter.  The trial included videotaped testimony by former President Ronald Reagan and established the principle that lying during a Congressional investigation is equivalent to perjury. Second segment: Judy Woodruff interviews FBI Director William Sessions and a panel composed of author Stephen Pizzo, economist Daniel Brumbaugh, and Congressman Jim Leach (R-Iowa) about the extent to which fraud contributed to the savings and loan crisis. Other causes mentioned include the failure of deposit insurance, deregulation, and the policy of keeping insolvent savings and loan institutions open. In the third segment Roger Rosenblatt discusses whether the respect for AIDS victim Ryan White is due to his character and courage or to the difference between his lifestyle and that of many AIDS patients. VHS 959

No rewind: Teenagers speak out on AIDS awareness. 1992. 1 videocassette (23 min.). Look at AIDS education programs directed at teenagers. Two HIV positive youth tell their stories and several peer educators discuss and demonstrate their work in and out of the classroom. Uses storytelling, humorous role playing and condom how-tos to encourage students to break through the denial myth of "it couldn't happen to me" and to begin communicating about relevant sexual and social issues. VHS 5638

Philadelphia. 1994. 1 videocassette (125 min.). Story of two lawyers who join together to sue a prestigious Philadelphia law firm when the firm fires one of them because he has AIDS. Directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. VHS 3414

Plagued. 1992. 4 videocassettes (240 min.). The series investigates the relationships between disease, epidemics, medical science, history and the environment.  Pt.1 uses various case studies to show how epidemics break out; it also covers environmental ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and heart disease.  Pt. 2 concentrates on bubonic plague (Black Death) and cholera, giving an historical account of the spread of these diseases as man explored his world. Pt. 3 explores the relationship between the immune system and history.  Pt. 4 shows the interaction between the epidemics of HIV and syphilis, fostered by drug use and prostitution. VHS 3750

Positive motion. 1991. 1 videocassette (37 min.). Documents the work of the HIV/AIDS dance group in San Francisco, led by pioneering dancer, Anna Halprin.  The video spans the first seven months of the group's emotionally-charged workshops, culminating in the performance of a work titled "Carry me home."  It is about creativity and community as healing -- showing how dance can change the dancer, whose body becomes a storyteller conveying a new-found expression of health. VHS 4717

Sexually transmitted diseases. Here's to your health. 1980. 1 videocassette (29 min.). Dr. Kevin Murphy, coordinator of the Sexually Transmitted Disease Training Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center, discusses sexually transmitted diseases. VHS 2145

Silence=death. 1989. 1 videocassette (ca. 58 min.). Explores the reactions of New York's artistic community to the ravages of AIDS. Ranges from David Wojnarowicz' venomous proclamations and painter Rafael Gamba's seething indictment of homophobic bigotry, to Keith Haring's nostalgic longing for the days of carefree sex and Allen Ginsberg's musing on his sexual experimentation. VHS 2960

Someone, I tell you. 1993. 1 videocassette (21 min.). This account of the fourth display of the AIDS quilt in Washington, D.C., October 9-11, 1992, serves as the mechanism for recounting the origin of the NAMES Project and its extraordinary growth. The quilt serves as a memorial to those who have died of AIDS, helps ease the grief of those who work on it, and raises public awareness of the sanctity of human life and the need for increased research on both prevention and cure of AIDS. Despite bad weather, the display was visited by thousands of people. VHS 3198

Travis. 1998. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Focuses on a remarkable young boy living with AIDS, following the overall development of Travis Jefferie's disease and treatments. When we first meet Travis he is six. Filmed in the Highbridge community of the South Bronx over the course of the next three years, film chronicles his daily life together with his grandmother and primary caregiver, Mrs. Geneva Jefferies. Film observes as family members, medical professionals, friends and neighbors monitor his progress and encourage him through his medical treatment. VHS 5977

A Virus knows no morals (Ein virus kennt keine moral). 198-. 1 videocassette (84 min.). A black comedy on the AIDS virus that covers just about every aspect of AIDS and its effects, as well as the rumors surrounding it. VHS 4243

We bring a quilt. 1988. 1 videocassette (30 min.). The AIDS Memorial Quilt covered the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on the weekend of October 7, 1988. This documentary is a moving chronicle of that event, dedicated to the thousands of people who have been touched by the AIDS epidemic. VHS 4021

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