It’s the time of year when I get to pretend I’m hard done by; slaving away in darkened cinemas, gorging on the finest films the Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival has to offer. The upside to my valiant sacrifice is that I’m a sharing kinda guy:
It’s hard to believe there was a period in which the US government had to be convinced safe sex education was an essential tool in combating the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but unfortunately without the work of ex-hustler and safe sex pioneer Richard Berkowitz that conclusion could have been much later in coming. Daryle Wein’s documentary feature Sex Positive shines a light on the little known history of the safe sex movement and the personal cost to Berkowitz as he was vilified in the gay community for speaking out.
Sex Positive (2008)
Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M sex worker turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has has never been aptly credited.
