This film is part of Free
Aids: The Victims
Two AIDS sufferers recount their experiences battling the disease and society's misconceptions.
Overview
Current affairs series TV Eye meets two AIDS sufferers who recount their experiences of living with the disease and facing society's suspicion, fear and misconceptions. HIV-positive Bill Ayers is especially candid, refusing to conceal his identity or display any shame at being an out gay man despite virulent homophobia in the British media. Junior Health Minister John Patten's agreement to meet and shake hands with Ayers - two years before Princess Diana's famous visit to an HIV ward - is presented as a significant step forward.
Other interviewees in the programme include Joan Palmer, whose husband was the first haemophiliac to die of AIDS. Specialists featured are Dr Stuart Glover (Ham Green Hospital, Bristol), Dr Anthony Pinching (Clinical Immunologist, St Mary's Hospital, London), Dr Jonathan Weber (St Mary's Hospital, London), and Dr David Miller (St Mary's Hospital, London). When the programme was made 58 AIDS-related deaths had been recorded in Britain; by 2011 that figure had grown to over 20,000.
Related
What's a Girl Like You ... What's a Girl Like You ...
Documentary 1969 52 mins Location: Vauxhall
Scintillating look at the 1960s drag renaissance, with a visit to London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
Gay Black Group Gay Black Group
Magazine and Review show 1983 25 mins Location: Bloomsbury
The Gay Black Group - reasserting culture and identity on two levels.
David Is Homosexual David Is Homosexual
Drama-documentary 1978 38 mins Location: Lewisham
A lonely gay man discovers friends, love and activism in this rediscovered educational film made by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
What Am I? What Am I?
Current affairs 1980 26 mins Location: Hay-on-Wye/Y Gelli Gandryll
Transgender pioneer April Ashley appears in this moving look at the challenges faced by the trans community in 1980s Britain
Paralysis Paralysis
Drama 2016 9 mins
Struggling with the pressures of homophobia when her partner is taken away by a hateful mother, a young gay woman struggles to cope with the traumas and anxieties of her life.
Facing the Sun Facing the Sun
Drama 1980 54 mins
Sao Paulo-set love triangle drama, featuring a rare TV depiction of bisexuality.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
Blades Blades
Drama 2023 2 mins
A group of young Black boys run into a building. One of them is about to do the unimaginable.
We Collide We Collide
Romance 2023 2 mins
A queercore romance - a visceral and immersive exploration of the power of the mosh pit and finding love in the most unlikely of places.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
Hen Do Hen Do
Comedy 2023 2 mins
En-route to her hen weekend, bride-to-be Faye kills the vibe with a bombshell confession.
Daytimers Daytimers
Documentary 2023 2 mins
An insight into Daytimers, the South Asian DJ collective that are breaking new ground in Britain.