Vito Russo

트랜스젠더 여성들을 향한 폭력. 그 거센 물결에 맞서 싸우는 빅토리아 크루스가 진실을 찾아 나선다. 용감했던 트랜스젠더, 오래전 시신으로 발견된 마샤 P. 존슨을 위해.

From the onset of the AIDS epidemic, author Larry Kramer emerged as a fiery activist, an Old Testament-style prophet full of righteous fury who denounced both the willful inaction of the government and the refusal of the gay community to curb potentially risky behaviors. Co-founder of both organization Gay Men's Health Crisis and the direct action protest group ACT UP, Kramer was vilified by some who saw his criticism to be an expression of self-hatred, while lionized by others who credit him with waking up the gay community — and, eventually, the government and medical establishment — to the devastation of the disease.

In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.

This documentary highlights the historical contexts that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals have occupied in cinema history, and shows the evolution of the entertainment industry's role in shaping perceptions of LGBT figures. The issues addressed include secrecy – which initially defined homosexuality – as well as the demonization of the homosexual community with the advent of AIDS, and finally the shift toward acceptance and positivity in the modern era.

In New York City, a distraught activist confronts the mayor with a story of a friend who languished on a cot in an emergency room hallway for nine days, only to die 48 hours after leaving the hospital. In 1988, thousands of activists hold the Food and Drug Administration under siege, demanding speedier drug approval. In 1990 AIDS activists converge on the National Institute of Health, calling for a more equitable clinical trial system and expanded research into new drugs and treatment. Voices From the Front, the first feature-length documentary on AIDS activism in America, makes clear the emotional and political effects of community activism using the voices of those directly engaged. It is a powerful distillation of pictures and words from events organized to change public consciousness, expose the failure of the health care systems, and challenge government inaction and neglect concerning AIDS.

On the eve of 1987's Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, surviving families and friends of people who have died of AIDS prepare panels to be added to a large-scale memorial quilt project. Drawing from the sea of names memorialized, director Robert Epstein focuses on the lives of six people. Alongside the intimate profiles offered, through news footage and interviews, Epstein puts the AIDS crisis in the larger context of social and government response to the disease.

85년 아카데미 장편다큐멘터리 부문 수상작 하비 밀크는 게이 활동가로서는 최초로 샌프란시스코의 시정 감시관(Supervisor)에 선출된 인물이다. 그러나, 공개적으로 자신이 게이임을 선언했을 뿐만 아니라 지역 사회의 산적한 문제를 진보적인 관점에서 해결하고자 했던 그의 노력은 수많은 편견과 장애물에 부딪치게 되고, 결국 그를 죽음에까지 이르게 한다. 1985년도 아카데미 장편 다큐멘터리 작품상을 수상하기도 한 이 작품은, 80년대 미국의 대표적인 독립 다큐멘터리이다. 감독 로버트 엡스타인은, 게이들에 대한 편견을 지니고 있던 좌파 운동가의 고백으로부터 하비가 살해당한 바로 그 날 조직된 45000 명의 촛불 시위 장면에 이르기까지, 주변 인물의 인터뷰 및 방대한 자료 화면을 동원하며, 새로운 세상을 갈구한 사회 운동과 게이 액티비즘에 대한 면밀한 케이스 스터디와도 같은 작품을 만들어냈다. 개인과 사회의 상호작용이 언제나 구체적인 역사적 계기를 통해서 교차하듯, 은 60년대 이후 동성애운동이 발화하기 시작한 샌프란시스코의 정치적·사회적 분위기를 그려냄과 동시에, 장벽을 돌파하려던 활동가, 그의 조직적 활동, 그리고 그를 가로막은 거대한 편견의 요새를 세부묘사한다. 동성애자는 물론 미국내의 모든 정치적 소수자들과 함께 손잡고 권익옹호를 위해 애썼던 한 활동가의 초상은 진정 시대를 초월한 운동가의 의지를 실감하게 한다.

When David, an ex-monk still in his twenties meets Mark, he falls hard; soon he's asked Mark if they can live together. Things go well for awhile, and then differences in their definition of "commitment" begin to push them apart. Mark wants other sexual adventures, David tries to go along. Can they talk through the crisis in their relationship or is a breakup in the offing? David sees his relationship with Mark as a marriage, so if it ends, can David's heart ever heal?