''Positive'' is a 1990 documentary film directed, written and produced by

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, painter and one of the most famous gay rights activists in the German-speaking world. In ov ...

(in cooperation with Phil Zwickler). The film received international resonance.Murray, ''Images in the Dark'', p. 109

Plot

''Positive'' is about how the gay community in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and its activists deal with the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

crisis. The film's protagonists include

Larry Kramer Laurence David Kramer (June 25, 1935May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to Lo ...

and

Diamanda Galás Diamanda Galás (born August 29, 1955) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, visual artist, and soprano. She has campaigned for AIDS education and the rights of the infected. Galás's commitment to addressing social issues and her involve ...

.Kuzniar, ''The Queer German Cinema'', p. 90

Production notes

''Positive'' is the first part of Rosa von Praunheim's ''AIDS-Trilogy''.

Awards

*1990: Queer Film Prize of the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

(together with '' Silence = Death'')

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

wrote in 1992: "''Silence = Death'' and ''Positive'': The best AIDS films to date .." The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

summed it up: "In short, Praunheim is just the man for the job he has taken on with ''Silence = Death'' and ''Positive'': he has the breadth of vision, the compassion and the militance and, yes, the sense of humor necessary to tackle the AIDS epidemic in all its aspects."

Notes

References

* Kuzniar, Alice A, ''The Queer German Cinema'', Stanford University Press, 2000, *Murray, Raymond. ''Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video Guide to the Cinema of Spain''. TLA Publications, 1994,

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0100392, title=Positive 1990 films 1990 documentary films German documentary films West German films Documentary films about HIV/AIDS Films directed by Rosa von Praunheim 1990s English-language films HIV/AIDS in American films HIV/AIDS in German films 1990s German films English-language German films