Stiff Sheets

Memory Books

May 2008 •English

In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.

The AIDS Show

July 1986 •English

A recording of a play about the intangible impacts AIDS has on a community. This is a moving, beautifully photographed combination of theater and documentary that captures the incredible excitement of live theater and intensifies the power of the play's message.

The Salt Mines

October 1990 •English

Explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latino transvestites who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through prostitution. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow. The three friends share the place known as "The Salt Mines".

The Transformation

June 1996 •English

Ricardo was once Sara, a homeless HIV positive transvestite, living in the underbelly of Manhattan. Today he is a churchgoing, married man, "saved" by a Dallas ministry. He has renounced his homosexuality, but is his conversion complete? Susana Aiken and Carlos Aparicio offer an intimate look at Ricardo's transformation.

Doctors, Liars, and Women: AIDS Activists Say No to Cosmo

January 1988 •English

Outraged by the controversial January, 1988 article in Cosmopolitan magazine, the women in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, (Act Up, New York), organized the first AIDS demonstration focused on women. Doctors, Liars and Women:AIDS Activists Say No To Cosmo not only documents the efforts of the Women's Committee to organize this protest, it also serves as a how-to-guide for direct action.

Fight Back, Fight AIDS: 15 Years of ACT UP

November 2002 •English

A look at the ACT UP movement from its inception to the present day.

No Regret

June 1993 •English

Five gay Black men who are HIV-positive discuss how they are battling the double stigmas surrounding their infection and homosexuality.

DiAna's Hair Ego: AIDS Info Up Front

January 1990 •English

A documentary film about AIDS and one unconventional woman's efforts to educate her small, Southern community. DiAna DiAna is a local hairdresser who transformed her beauty parlor into a center for AIDS and safe sex information.

Life of Crime 2

December 1998 •English

This follow-up to the 1989 documentary ONE YEAR IN A LIFE OF CRIME revisits three of the original subjects in New Jersey during a five-year period in the 1990s. We share in their triumphs and setbacks as they navigate lives of poverty, drug abuse, AIDS, and petty crime.

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.

Likhaya

November 2009 •English

A look at the rampant HIV epidemic rate in Swaziland.

Puppets Against Aids - Township to Tundra

January 1992 •English

In 1992, an independent South African puppetry group, the African Research and Educational Puppetry Program, were invited by OXFAM (Canada) to bring their highly successful educational program 'Puppets Against Aids' to tour rural and regional Canada for twelve weeks. This is the one-hour documentary that was produced from their Canadian Tour.

Pfui, Rosa!

October 2002 •German

German iconoclast filmmaker and gay-rights activist Rosa vonPraunheim examines his own life and career in the documentary Phooey Rosa! With a quickly paced editing style, the film is a mix of personal banter, candid interviews, and clips from his filmography. It also includes footage from his early film Bed Sausage to his later work Neurosia. At the age of 60, vonPraunheim reveals intimate details about his past relationships and his childhood growing up after WWII. He also implicates some of his friends and inspirations, including Luzi Kryn and Rainer Kranach.

Once Upon a Time in the Gay Village

November 2022 •French

Once upon a time in the Gay Village is a montage of photos and music telling the story of the founding of Le Parc de l’Espoir, the AIDS memorial park in the heart of Montreal’s Gay Village.

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.

But... Seriously

March 1994 •English

A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.

Paris Is Burning

March 1991 •English

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Deconstructing the Myth of Aids

January 2003 •English

This informative and shocking two-hour documentary reveals over fifteen years of research from the world's leading AIDS scientists and researchers who unveil the truth behind the controversy surrounding HIV. Through this discovery process information is uncovered about the lack of "real" science behind what is accepted as official science. We are given the opportunity to witness and view respected authorities who come forward to challenge many of the uncertainties and "truths" about AIDS. This documentary will challenge those who claim to have discovered the cause of AIDS and who then sold to the world a highly inconsistent test as the absolute indicator of a fatal disease. A timeline through AIDS history presents inaccurate statements, questionable scientific evidence, and no real answers from the billions of global dollars spent on research.

Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring

November 1989 •English

Short documentary about artist Keith Haring, detailing his involvement in the New York City graffiti subculture, his opening of the Pop Shop, and the social commentary present in his paintings and drawings.

Agora Que Eu Sei

June 2016 •Portuguese