[FILM] The ACT UP Diaries by Mateo Wilhelm Ebert Reviewed by Rob Zukowski Created by Mateo Wilhelm Ebert, a member of ACT UP NY, the ACT UP Diaries is a video compilation made from 1985–1992. It was a critical time in history; one whose impact would shape future generations and help ensure their survival. On the project’s Web page, Ebert states, “I use this channel as a mode of healing from very difficult memories. It is dedicated to the many lives lost to AIDS, and [...]

[FILM] Ending Silence, Shame & Stigma: HIV/AIDS in the African American Family Directed by Kat Cheairs Dark Hollow Films Reviewed by V. Anderson Ending Silence, Shame & Stigma: HIV/AIDS in the African American Family looks back to the years before 1982, when AIDS was called GRID (“Gay-related infectious [more commonly, “immunodeficiency] disease” as identified by an interviewee) because it was then believed to be a “gay white male issue,” and forward to the potential for open, non-judgmental dialogue within African-American communities that have been historically [...]

Rosanne Cash transcends all styles of music with her latest release and donates proceeds to a special church by Dann Dulin Rosanne Cash spells her first name minus an “e,” which usually fits between the “s” and the “a.” My guess is that she has instead transferred that letter to the beginning of the word “Enlighten,” which she does for her fellow brethren through her charitable work. The luminous Grammy award-winning cuts-to-your-heart songstress has recently released her song, “Jim and George,” where 100 percent of [...]

V. Anderson talks with Sade Oyinade about making educational films that kids won’t laugh at I don’t remember much about the educational films I was shown as a kid, but I do remember mocking them intensely, both for their overbearing messages and for their out of date language and style. American English changes a lot from decade to decade, and if it’s a little bit off, well, a decade is a long time for a fourteen-year-old. Just as we used to call the Internet the [...]

Dancers from Pennsylvania Ballet take Shut Up and Dance, and AIDS Fundraiser, to the next level by Chip Alfred It may be one of Philadelphia’s best-kept secrets, but it’s also one of the city’s biggest AIDS fundraisers and one of the most extraordinary, entertaining events of its kind. Shut Up and Dance, a project to benefit MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) put on by a group of Pennsylvania Ballet dancers, presents its twenty-first anniversary performance on Saturday, March 23, at the historic Forrest Theater. [...]

A Los Angeles health clinic launches a telenovela about a Fictional Latino family at risk to encourage HIV testing by Larry Buhl Los Angeles-based AltaMed Health Services’ Universal HIV Testing Initiative had a dilemma. It needed to promote routine HIV screening among all adults, adolescents, and pregnant women and encourage more Latino clients to get tested. Their new outreach effort had several mandates: educate the clinics’ mostly Latino population about how HIV is spread; encourage universal HIV testing for everyone fifteen and older; erase the [...]

dance4life, a global organization empowering youth in the fight against HIV, gains a foothold in the U.S. by Chip Alfred Ten years ago, it was just a dream. Dennis Karpes and Ilco van der Lind, two Dutch marketers concerned about the AIDS pandemic, imagined a world united to push back the spread of HIV. Using the slogan, “Start Dancing. Stop AIDS,” dance4life, headquartered in Amsterdam, was founded in 2003. It is now the largest youth movement in the world focused on HIV awareness and prevention—inspiring [...]

David France, Director of HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, talks with V. Anderson About Our History of Fighting Back I’ve tried writing [fiction] scripts before. But I get over-attached to the truth, and maybe that’s the thing that keeps us journalists.” With a background in long-form journalism, director David France speaks of shaping the groundbreaking events in the footage, shot by the activists who witnessed them, into How To Survive a Plague. This documentary throws the viewer right into the center of the action, causing [...]

In a New Documentary, Four Youth Affected by HIV Open Their Hearts and Bare Their Souls by Chip Alfred Photos Courtesy Border2Border Entertainment Our youth should be a time for self-discovery and dreaming about the future. Now imagine what it’s like to be a young person with your whole life in front of you, then your world is turned upside down by a positive HIV test result? How do you rediscover yourself? What becomes of those dreams? That’s what a new film, Positive Youth, explores, [...]

Dance for Life Chicago Presents a Spectacular One-of-a-Kind AIDS Fundraiser by Chip Alfred Some of Chicago’s foremost dancers and choreographers have been doing something extraordinary one night each year for the past two decades. Members of six of the Windy City’s top dance companies donate their time for a special evening of performance, memories, and celebration—all to support HIV/AIDS services, education and prevention. Like the theme song from A Chorus Line, another dance-themed production, this show is without a doubt “One Singular Sensation.” But unlike [...]