''Silence = Death'' 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, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous LGBT social move ...

(in cooperation with Phil Zwickler). The film received international resonance.

Plot

The film centers on the responses of gay artists in New York City to the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

crisis. The film's protagonists include

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( ; September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and HIV/AIDS activism, AIDS activist prominent in the East Village, Ma ...

, Rafael Gamba, Paul Smith, Peter Kunz,

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

, Don Moffett, Bern Boyle,

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

and Emilio Cubeiro.Murray, Raymond. ''Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video''. TLA Publications, 1994, . p. 109

Production notes

''Silence = Death'' is the second part of Rosa von Praunheim's ''AIDS-Trilogy''.

Awards

*1990: Queer Film Prize of the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

(together with '' Positive'')

Reception

''The Guardian'' wrote in 1992: "''Silence = Death'' and ''Positive'': The best AIDS films to date." The ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote: "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." Critic Jerry Tallmer, founder of the

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

, wrote: "Rosa (originally Holger) von Praunheim, the brilliant, acerbic director of such breakthrough gay-revolutionist works as ''Silence & Death'' and '' A Virus Knows No Morals''."

References

External links