SATURDAY, JUNE 27
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
4:40 PM VIDEO FREE AMERICA
7:00 PM VIDEO FREE AMERICA
9:00 PM VIDEO FREE AMERICA
AIDS: THE REAL AND THE UNREAL A documentary on individuals and groups who help people with AIDS, a person with AIDS who speaks for himself and a critique of the media 's portrayal of AIDS.
H EROES U S. A . , 1987 Among the heartening reactions to AIDS has been the flowering of support ser vices for those with AIDS. Heroes documents several San Francisco AIDS care groups and ind ividuals including SHANTI, THE META PHYSICAL ALLIANCE, PROJECT INFORM, a woman who massages people who have AIDS and a man who conducts art classes for them. The tape features inspirational and informative interviews with people who have sur vived AIDS for more than five years and con cludes with some potent thoughts about the true nature of heroism. Dir ector : John Canalli. Tape source: John Canalli, 182B Castro St. , San Francisco, CA 94114. 3/<' color, 28min.
I'M STILL ALIVE : A PERSON ' WITH AIDS TELLS HIS STORY Germany, 1987 San Franciscan Peter Sieglar is the subject of I'm Still Alive . Sieglar was born in Germany. He returned there in 1 98 6 to reveal to his family that he had AIDS. The trip home helped to cr ystallize his thoughts on AIDS, homosexuality and the meaning of his life, all of which he generously shares with director Michael Aue (and us). A very sweet and hopeful tape, I'm Still Alive is a testament to the wisdom and resilience of the human spirit. Director: Michael Aue. Tape source: EBS Pr oductions, 320 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. 3/4;' color, 58min. In English and Ger man with English subtitles.
A PLAGUE ON YOU Great Britain, 1985 A Plague on You is a sharp and defi ant critique of the British Establishmef1t's representation of AIDS by a London-based lesbian and gay media collective. An ambitious work, it attempts to separate the real from the unreal in the presentation of AIDS in England. Directors: Lesbian and Gay Media Group. Tape source: Con ver se Pictures, Bon Marche Building, 444 Brixton Road, Lon don SW9 8EJ, England. 314," color, 28min.
THE CALL TO ACTION
LESBIAN TV PARTY
Gay men and lesbians on the political front.
Pil iows/PJs OK! TV Party begins with hilarious 17 Rooms, whose subtitle, " What Do Lesbians Do in Bed?" got it banished from Britain's usually open minded Channel 4. A dozen or so women bare their breasts and talk about them in the wonderful Off Our Chests. The Minders is a lush fantasy about a celestial utopia ruled by women. Sick features nutty rumina tions on the origins of illness and sexual orientation. Frankly, Shirley portrays the less than successful re union of two ex-lovers. Episode One of the lesbian soap opera Two in Twenty introduces the melodramatic ad ventures of a typical group of lesbians in a typical American town . . . .
ACROSS THE RUBICON South Africa, 1987 Pieter-Dirk U ys is a South African female imper sonator/caricaturist whose finely-wrought satirical tour ing show elucidates apartheid while lampooning it. Uys walks a thin line between censorship and arrest as he occasionally steps out of characters that incl ude pw. Botha, Desmond Tutu and Margaret Thatcher to deliver pointed attacks on apartheid and the South African government. Uys' popularity with both white and black audiences insulates him somewhat from government interference, but he describes his balancing act as being " like doing the tango in front of a firing squad." Across the Rubicon brilliantly portrays the humor and grace with which U ys makes his contrib ution to the fight agai nst apartheid. Dir ector: Lionel Friedbe r g Pr oducer: Diana Fr iedbe r g Tape source: Zepr a Inter national, 6133 Pat Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 314;' color, 54min.
opening the program-
DANCING IN DULAIS Great Britain,
1986
The South Wales miners' strike of 1 984/85 saw the formation of a curious alliance between a plucky group of young homosexuals from London and miners in Dulais Valley. In DanCing in Dulais, an initial wariness on the part of the young gays, the miners and the miners' families gives way, through sometimes delicate interactions, to a loving and purposeful solid arity. The unembell ished videography captures well this fas cinating-to-witness union of two disparate yet ultimately kindred groups. The " Pits and Perverts" benefit con cert features the Bronski Beat. Directors: Lesbian and Gay Suppor t the Mtners Gr oup Tape source: Converse Pictures, Bon Mar che Building, 444 Brixton Road, London, SW9 8EJ, England 3/<' color, 25min.
17 ROOMS Great Britain,
1984
Director : Caroline Sheldon. Tape source: Women Make Movies, 225 Lafayette #212, New York, NY 1 0012. 3/4," color, 1 0min.
OFF OUR CHESTS U S. A. ,
1987
Director : Susan Kuchinskas. Tape source: Susan Kuchinskas, 3016 Filber t # 1 0, Oakland, CA 94608. 314," color, 24min.
THE MINDERS New Zealand,
1985
Director: Melanie Read. Tape source: Women Make Movies, 225 Lafayette #212, New York, NY 10012. 3/.1," color, 50min.
SICK US. A. ,
1986
Director: Cecilia Dougherty. Tape source: Cecilia Dougherty, 431 40th Street #7, Oakland, CA 94609. 314:' color, 6min.
FRANKLY, SHIRLEY Canada,
1987
Director : Margaret Moores. Tape source: V-Tape, 183 Bathurst ST, Tor onto M5T 2R7, Ontario, Canada. 3/4," color, 11min.
TWO IN TWENTY US. A . ,
1987
Producers: Laurel Chiten, Cheryl Qamar, Rachel McCollum. Tape source: Two in Twenty, P.O. Box 105, Somer ville, MA 02114. 314:' color, 52min.