This film is part of Free
Aids: The Last Chance (Part 1)
A young Sinéad O'Connor pops up in the first of a two-part This Week special about the spread of AIDS
Overview
The first of a two-part This Week special on doctors' fears about the spread of AIDS looks beyond the so-called 'gay plague'. From partner-swapping London singles to Edinburgh heroin addicts, the report's tone of mounting concern may annoy gay men who survived the crisis and often felt abandoned by authorities: only a perceived threat to heterosexuals seemed to prompt such belated action. Shockingly, the first government awareness campaign was only published in March 1986, four years after the first UK diagnoses and deaths.
We see specialist AIDS wards under construction in the regions (central London is described as a "lost cause"). It was then anticipated that 1 million people could be infected by 1990, and as the programme indicates the AZT drug was far from a cure; not until the mid-1990s would new combination therapy see AIDS-related deaths plateau in the UK. Concerns over threats to civil liberties are brushed aside when a 'balanced' selection of viewers vote for compulsory screening and identity cards, though the lack of frank TV advertising is challenged. Look out for 19-year-old Sinéad O'Connor in a mock-up ad for 'Prophyltex' extra-strong condoms. The young singles blithely dismiss condom use: "like eating a Mars Bar with the wrapper on".
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
Amateur film 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.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.