Hivstorytrust

Preserving and sharing stories of those impacted by the HIV /AIDS pandemic of the 80s & 90s. UKs largest video archive related to HIV to be made public, and to become a feature film and TV series.

We are making a feature length documentary that reflects how HIV and AIDS impacted mainly gay men, their partners and friends during the first years of the epidemic in the UK before effective treatment was available. We want to remember both the lost generation of men and women who died during those years and tell the stories of those who have survived. Our aim is to interview and record the experiences of 100 people who have been touched by HIV and AIDS.

Although the directors leading this project have experience making programmes for major broadcasters, we did not want this to become just another television programme which might not do justice to a profound story that belongs (for the most part) to the gay community. We want to give the film the freedom to speak for itself, without agenda, to simply record the history of HIV and AIDS as told by those who were directly impacted. We therefore decided that this project would be wholly independent. And so our project is led by a small group of people directly involved with the story of HIV and AIDS – a grass roots approach to film making.

The film will also form the basis of a substantial archive of in-depth interviews. The archive will contain all of the one hundred individual interviews in their entirety (around two hours for each interview) for access by researchers and other interested parties. Relevant art, performance pieces and music will also be incorporated into the archive.

But we need to hear your stories and the experiences of those you knew and lost during that time for this project to be a success. So please contact us if you are interested in sharing your stories for the film.