Stiff Sheets

AIDS: What Everyone Needs to Know

January 1985 •English

The film provides information about the course and symptoms of AIDS, the effect of AIDS viruses on the immune system, the routes of infection, the main risks of infection and the protective measures against them.

Blood Brother

January 2013 •English

Rocky Braat went to India as a disillusioned American tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV/AIDS, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face. Or the love he would find.

8: SIDA

May 2006 •French

In a hospital in Burkina Faso, a man infected by HIV tells his story.

The Battle of Amfar

January 2013 •English

When AIDS struck in the early 1980s, a scientist and a movie star did not have to respond - but they did. Dr. Mathilde Krim and Elizabeth Taylor joined forces to create amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. The fight against HIV has never been the same. The Perfect Host reveals how two powerful and very different women came together, and what their combined efforts achieved. With passion and wit, Taylor wielded celebrity as a weapon against government indifference while Krim's commitment to science ensured support for the most promising research areas. Today, the only man cured of AIDS can thank research championed by Mathilde Krim. Visually dazzling and emotionally compelling, this story offers a surprising perspective on the still ongoing fight against AIDS.

Eleven Minutes

April 2008 •English

Feature documentary following fashion designer Jay McCarroll's year-long journey preparing his first independent runway show and selling his clothing line to stores.

Uncle Howard

March 2017 •English

When Howard Brookner lost his life to AIDS in 1989, the 35-year-old director had completed two feature documentaries and was in post-production on his narrative debut, Bloodhounds of Broadway. Twenty-five years later, his nephew, Aaron, sets out on a quest to find the lost negative of Burroughs: The Movie, his uncle's critically-acclaimed portrait of legendary author William S. Burroughs. When Aaron uncovers Howard's extensive archive in Burroughs’ bunker, it not only revives the film for a new generation, but also opens a vibrant window on New York City’s creative culture from the 1970s and ‘80s, and inspires a wide-ranging exploration of his beloved uncle's legacy.

Mirror, Mirror

September 1996 •English

Portrait of the last year of the life of famous New York drag queen Consuela Cosmetic.

Sadness

June 1999 •English

Based on photographer William Yang's one man stage show, "Sadness" chronicles two diverging narratives through the use of slide photography, oral history and stylised recreation. One story follows Yang's pilgrimage into the heart of the North Queensland sugar cane fields as he investigates the murder of his uncle Fang Yuen. The other is a series of moving portraits of the many friends and lovers Yang has lost to AIDS. Director Tony Ayres skillfully weaves these two separate stories together creating a powerful testament to family, friends, love and loss. Cinematography by Tristan Milani. Narrated by William Yang.

A Powerful Noise

April 2008 •English

Bookended by call-to-action quotes from Margaret Mead and Mahatma Gandhi, this inspiring documentary follows three extraordinary women -- in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali, and Vietnam -- as they lead day-to-day battles against ignorance, poverty, oppression, and ethnic strife.

The Blood of Yingzhou District

June 2006 •English

A year in the life of children in the Province of Anhui in China, who have lost their parents to AIDS. Traditional obligations to family and village collide with terror of the disease.

Sin ti contigo

June 2010 •Spanish

Confessions of a father to his deceased daughter.

Not A Simple Story; Out in Silence

January 1994 •English

"Out in Silence" is one of a few films dealing with the HIV and Aids epidemic in the early 90's among the Asian American community. Filmed in New York, Guam and Hawaii, portrait of two people and how they are dealing with issues of homophobia the lack of support from the communities and family.

Meth

January 2006 •English

But it is a devastating expose of party-n-play culture. It's hard to depict methamphetamine use with any sensitivity, but this movie's dry and frank style bring this plague into startling focus. It's very compassionate and gives a lot of context and insight into how Gay culture and drug culture meet. It is heartbreaking to know that the majority of the men interviewed for this movie are HIV-positive. This movie includes graphic sexual content and vivid depictions of drug use, but it serves a very valuable purpose. it is an eloquent call for social responsibility.

To Live Is Better Than To Die

January 2003 •Chinese

In the 1990s HIV/AIDS came to Wenlou through a blood purchasing program. To supplement their income many poor villagers sold their blood and 60% of those who sold blood contracted HIV/AIDS from unsanitary equipment. Many have died from the disease. In his documentary film, To Live is Better than to Die, Wiejun Chen tells of the impact AIDS has had in parts of rural China by showing how it has affected the Ma family. It is spring when the film takes up the family’s story.

A Tecnologia Social

November 2018 •Portuguese

5B

November 2018 •English

At the heart of the HIV/AIDS crisis and widespread hysteria, a single number and letter designated a ward on the fifth floor of San Francisco General Hospital, the first in the country designed specifically to deal with AIDS patients. The unit's nurses' emphasis on humanity and consideration of holistic well-being was a small miracle amidst a devastating crisis and the ensuing panic about risk and infection.

Freddie Mercury: The Final Act

April 2022 •English

The story of the extraordinary final chapter of Freddie Mercury’s life and how, after his death from AIDS, Queen staged one of the biggest concerts in history, the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, to celebrate his life and challenge the prejudices around HIV/AIDS. For the first time, Freddie's story is told alongside the experiences of those who tested positive for HIV and lost loved ones during the same period. Medical practitioners, survivors, and human rights campaigners recount the intensity of living through the AIDS pandemic and the moral panic it brought about.

Ruins

September 2013 •English

A documentary about a shocking case of HIV criminalization in Greece.

First Love, Fatal Love

April 1991 •English

A docudrama telling the true story of a young woman who learns she has contracted the AIDS virus after an encounter with a fellow student while in college.

Silence = Death

February 1990 •English

AIDS victims and activists cope with hardship and society’s ignorance.