WE FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE: an evening of short films curated by What Would an HIV Doula Do?

WE FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE: an evening of short films curated by What Would an HIV Doula Do?

Gathering
In-Person

Saturday, July 30th, 2022

7 - 9 pm

RSVP here.

Still image from “Goodnight Kia” by Kia Labeija

Join us on Saturday, July 30th at 7pm for WE FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE at KNOW/HOW Books and Print for an evening of short films and small group discussion curated by What Would an HIV Doula Do? in partnership with VisualAIDS.

Doors open at 6:30, with the program beginning at 7. Eight short films will be shown with a runtime of about 43 minutes. After a short break we’ll hold facilitated small group discussions in response to the films.

From protesting to kissing, cruising, or swallowing a bunch of pills, people living with HIV develop new relationships with ourselves and others after diagnosis. Navigating joy, anger, and acceptance, what emerges is a tension we call intimacy. WE FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE, named after the iconic Rihanna song, frames intimacy as a public and political matter explored through a range of responses, including radicality, boredom, and keen pop sensibilities. In the videos we see how HIV can trouble close relationships while also creating complex and necessary connections to social movements. These videos are about interactions with oneself, community, and the state upon diagnosis and beyond.

“If there’s one lesson to be taken from the history of organizing, it’s… the power of placing one’s body in ways that challenge empire.” — Jawanza James Williams, VOCAL NY.

What Would an HIV Doula Do? is a collective of people who create culture and community in response to the ongoing AIDS crisis.

This event is organized in tandem with BROADCAST, a screening series organized by Visual AIDS in New York City. BROADCAST features contemporary artists’ responses to the ongoing AIDS crisis through the medium of video. To learn more, visit visualaids.org/broadcast.

Image Design credit: Mia Talkovsky; still image from “Goodnight Kia” by Kia Labeija

Program:

Kia LaBeija, Goodnight, Kia - 5:04

Glen Fogel, 7 years later - 4:19

Brontez Purnell, 100 Boyfriends Mixtape (The Demo) - 08:06

Kurt Weston, Not Going Away – 5:34

Christopher Murray, Soneto Veitenueve – 3:50

Beto Pérez, In the Future - 7:00

Gevi Dimitrakopoulou, This is Right: Zak, Life and After - 9:04

VOCAL-NY, VOCAL-NY for Alternate Endings, Activist Risings - 8:00

Total runtime: 42:57