Like a Prayer
1990 · 29m · Documentary
Produced by the activist video collective ACT UP/NY called DIVA TV (Damned Interfering Activist Television), this tape analyzes the collaborative demonstration "Stop the Church" by WHAM! (Women's Health Action and Mobilization) and ACT UP/NY on December 10, 1990, against Cardinal John O'Connor and the Roman Catholic Church's murderous stand on abortion rights, safer sex, and homosexuality.
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General Idea: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle
2008
"GENERAL IDEA: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle is a humorous, informative and ultimately poignant documentary about General Idea. Formed in 1969, they produced art that targeted and mimicked media, consumerism and celebrity, creating a revolutionary new spirit of art making. Interviews with AA Bronson, the sole survivor of the trio, lends personal relevancy to this story of art and sexual politics. GENERAL IDEA: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle is a tale of love, fame, overwhelming loss and, ultimately, renewal." -AGO.net
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Mrs. Iran's Husband
2023 · ★ 6
Gender apartheid is front and centre in this pointed exploration of family and labour in Iran. Sultan Mohammad proposes taking a third wife as a way to maintain and expand his free labour force, to the consternation of his current wives.
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Women at Work
1958
An introduction to the employment picture in Canada in the late 1950s, designed to inform potential immigrants of job opportunities existing for women. The film reviews many fields of work in which women are engaged, ranging from the highly specialized to the unskilled, and shows much of it being performed by women who have come to Canada from many different lands. Placement services and information services established to help newly arrived immigrants are shown in operation. Viewed from a modern perspective, the greater part of the film accepts as normal the waste of women's talents in repetitive or service jobs while elevating this work to the status of a career. Currently distributed only in 13-minute abridged form.
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Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within
2025 · ★ 7.1
The story behind the Uganda-based YouTube dance sensations who have endured devastating personal loss from famine and war, and use the power of dance and song to overcome hardship.
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Thinking Positive
1993 · ★ 10
Another sensitive, thoughtful, and elegantly crafted film from home-grown McGee that speaks calmly to us of an alarming truth. Even in outports and relatively small Newfoundland communities, young people are vulnerable to becoming infected with HIV. The story centres on Trudy Parsons who was 20 when she contracted the virus, a young woman with the determination to show others that people like us do get it. The direct and candid way in which trudy and her friends discuss current social and personal views of sexuality makes for another stirring experience that inspires as much as it moves.
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Beat Goes On
2019
Beat Goes On is an impressionistic portrait of the activist Keith Cylar (1958–2004), co-founder of Housing Works and a central figure in the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP) NY. Cylar spoke clearly, frequently and with moral force about the struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City, many of whom were impoverished and struggling with multiple social and medical problems. His openness about his own drug use and the centrality of the fight against the criminalization of drugs for AIDS activism make Cylar's legacy especially resonant and relevant at this time. Commissioned by Visual AIDS in 2019 as part of STILL BEGINNING, a program of seven short videos responding to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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Something Has Happened
1987 · ★ 7.3
As the AIDS epidemic was spreading in 1987, the Swedish government commissioned Roy Andersson to make an educational film about the disease. In these twenty or so monotone scenes, Andersson criticizes the medical community for its dehumanizing and racist tendencies when researching HIV and AIDS.
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The Announcement
2012 · ★ 6.9
On Thursday, Nov. 7, 1991, Earvin "Magic" Johnson made people stop and watch at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. But this time it wasn't his basketball brilliance as a perennial NBA All-Star and three-time MVP that was captivating audiences worldwide. Instead, the 32-year-old groundbreaking point guard was holding a press conference to make the stunning announcement that he was HIV-positive and would be retiring from basketball immediately.
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The Queen of Ireland
2015 · ★ 4.8
Panti Bliss is many things: part glamorous aunt, part Jessica Rabbit, she's a wittily incisive performer with charisma to burn who is regarded as one of the best drag queens in the business. Created by Rory O'Neill, Panti is also an accidental activist and in her own words 'a court jester, whose duty is to say the un-sayable'. Over the last few years Rory has become a figurehead for LGBT rights in Ireland and since the recent scandal around Pantigate, his fight for equality and against homophobia has been recognised all around the world.
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Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride
2010 · ★ 3.9
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The Advocate for Fagdom
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