Press play on World AIDS Day. RHAC has put together a list of short films, documentaries and series to learn more about the HIV/AIDS movement, past and present. Check out our curated list below for what to watch, and where to watch it, in honour of World AIDS Day (December 1).
- World AIDS Day with RHAC (Video, 2020)
An educational video produced by Regional HIV/AIDS Connection (RHAC) that reflects on the history and lasting legacy of HIV/AIDS activism, art, and community care.
- It’s a Sin (Television Series, 2021)
The acclaimed mini-series follows a group of friends navigating the early HIV/AIDS crisis in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. Available to watch on Amazon Prime Video in Canada.
- How to Survive a Plague (Documentary, 2012)
The Academy Award-nominated film begins at the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City, following a group of AIDS activists and founders of the AIDS group ACT UP and their struggle for response from the United States government and medical establishment in developing effective HIV/AIDS medications. Learn more and find out where to watch, here!
- The Colour of Immunity (Video, 1991)
Available on YouTube via the Canadian AIDS Activist History Project. According to its creators, this video was the first HIV/AIDS video produced for and by ACB communities in Canada. Learn more here.
- Anishinabek Nation HIV Video Series (Mini documentaries, 2020)
Produced by the Anishinabek Nation HIV Program, these mini documentaries focus on de-stigmatizing HIV by using the stories of real people and their experiences:
- RNA (Documentary, 2019)
In this short documentary film, Julian, a makeup artist in Toronto shares his story and explores what it means to live with HIV in the current era of the pandemic.
- Positive Women - Exposing Injustice (Documentary, 2012)
Women's voices have rarely been heard on the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure in Canada. This documentary film by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Alison Duke that tells the personal stories of four women living with HIV in Canada who bravely speak out on this important issue.
- Our Bodies Our Business (Documentary 2016)
In commemoration of the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (December 17, 2016), the Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association partnered with University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health to premiere Our Bodies Our Business, a video compiling historic footage of sex workers’ rights activists at the 5th International Conference on AIDS in Montreal (1989)
- Strong Medicine (Educational video, 2018)
An educational video developed by the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network and CATIE, with and for Indigenous people living with HIV. Strong Medicine weaves together Indigenous knowledges of culture and wellness and Western knowledge of HIV testing and treatment to share accurate information about HIV testing and treatment.
- June's (Video, 2018)
Directed by Hubert Davis, June's tells the story of Casey House's pop-up restaurant June's HIV+ Eatery, using the words of the HIV+ participants who challenged guests to eat a meal prepared by someone living with HIV.