Topics / May. 10, 2018
Last century's HIV activists are this century's spiritual guides. After receiving the 2017 Cannes Film Festival Jury Award and Queer Palm Prize, 13 César Awards nominations and 6 wins, and was named by Almodóvar as best film of the year, BPM (Beats Per Minute) (Robin Campillo, 2017) has become one of the biggest successes in queer film history. GagaOOLala has selected 9 HIV-related film that have paved the way towards this amazing story, including one film by the same lead actor as BPM!
All Yours (2014)
Young Argentine Lucas arrives in a small Belgian town to visit gay bakery owner Henry, who fell in love with him through the internet; Lucas strutted his erotic stuff online in the hope of securing a better future for himself. Henry buys him a plane ticket to Europe, expecting in return that Lucas will not only share his bed but also help out at the bakery. However, their ideas about living together differ greatly. On top of that, Lucas gets to know a Canadian woman named Audrey and her son Jeff.
How to Survive a Plague (2012)
In the early years of the AIDS pandemic, HIV-positive activists - literally fighting for their lives - took on Washington and Big Pharma by forming ACT UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group). Combining theatrical protests with self-taught scientific training, these heroic groups both gave a sense of purpose to the dying and shook up the medical and governmental bureaucracies.
We Were Here (2011)
We Were Here is the first film to take a deep and reflective look back at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco, and how the City's inhabitants dealt with that unprecedented calamity. It explores what was not so easy to discern in the midst of it all - the parallel histories of suffering and loss, and of community coalescence and empowerment. Though this is a San Francisco based story, the issues it addresses extend not only beyond San Francisco but also beyond AIDS itself. 'We Were Here' speaks to our societal relationship to death and illness, our capacity as individuals to rise to the occasion, and the importance of community in addressing unimaginable crises.
United in Anger: A History of ACT UP (2012)
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.
Paris 05:59 (2016)
Théo and Hugo encounter each other's bodies in a sex club. They talk, things blur into the haziness of unbridled desire, then take shape for a moment as their gaze meets before they resume their exploration and lose themselves anew. A few moments later the two men feel the need to go outside. Together they drift down the deserted streets of nocturnal Paris. Do they want to know more about each other? Will their trust be rewarded? What are their expectations?
Chemsex (2015)
A shorthand term made popular by gay men in recent years for the use of drugs (specifically crystal meth, GHB and mephedrone) in a sexual context, ‘chemsex’ has been seen by some as a significant contributing factor in the rise of HIV diagnoses in London. Often referring to group sex that can last several days, with one or more of the specified drugs used to free inhibition and enhance libido, the trend is argued to be fuelled by the growing use of online apps as a means of sexual hook ups. In this unflinching documentary, we meet a host of men whose lives have been affected, from self-confessed ‘slammers’ to sexual health workers, each of whom talk candidly about the pleasures and perils associated with the scene. Much more than just a sensationalist exposé on a small portion of London’s gay community, this powerful and often graphic film offers a vital insight into a potent and potentially destructive issue.
Test (2013)
As the newest and youngest member of an exciting contemporary dance company Frankie faces a variety of challenges including the homophobic choreographer who commands him to, "dance like a man!" When one of his fellow dancers is injured Frankie must perform in his place. Todd, an established dancer in the same company and the bad-boy to Frankie's innocent, helps Frankie prepare. It's the classic test of skill and character. But a very different test looms on the horizon for both of them. As Frankie and Todd's friendship deepens, they navigate a world full of risk... and hope.
Rock Hudson, Dark and Handsome Stranger (2010)
This documentary sheds light on a famous actor star who performed a clandestine balancing act between his private and public lives; between the heterosexual world of an extremely manly looking screen idol and a darker side of forbidden sexuality lived by a secretly gay man.
Positive Youth (2012)
Positive Youth is a documentary which follows four HIV positive youth (late teens to 27) in four different North American cities in cinema vérité style. Growing up in the 1980s and 90s we were hammered with terrifying statistics of HIV/AIDS. Thirty years in, we are still learning. Each of the four subjects present a dynamic perspective on the reality of living positive today. Medical and psychological experts weigh in to provide up-to-date facts and a historical context to the reality of living positively—and these dynamic youth inspire beyond their years to bring us their stories of unparalleled bravery.
