Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 79 minutes
Rod
Director Robert Epstein ,
Jeffrey Friedman
script Robert Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman and Cindy Ruskin
production Bill Couturié , Robert Epstein , Jeffrey Friedman , Sandy Gallin
music Bobby McFerrin
occupation
The AIDS quilt

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt is an American documentary released in 1989 by the directors Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman about the genesis of the AIDS project NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt .

content

The content of the documentary is narrated by Dustin Hoffman . The film deals with some of the people who died of AIDS, who are remembered with a handicraft in the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt . Personal memories are combined with archive images of those affected, images of various politicians, health experts and other people who are also suffering from AIDS. Each section of the documentary is supplemented with statistics on the number of people infected with HIV and the number of Americans who died of AIDS in the early years of the AIDS epidemic. The end of the film marks the first public presentation of the finished quilt in 1987 on the National Mall in Washington, DC .

In the film, the lives of six of the people who died of AIDS, who are remembered with sections of the quilt, are detailed:

  • Tom Waddell , founder of the Gay Games . His life story is told in the film by his partner and Sara Lewinstein, the mother of his child.
  • David Mandell, Jr. , a young man with hemophilia . His parents, David Mandell and Suzi Mandell tell about his life.
  • Robert Perryman , an African-American who became infected with HIV from intravenous drug use. His life story is told by his widow Sallie Perryman.
  • Jeffrey Sevcik , a gay man. How his life went is told by his partner, the film critic and historian Vito Russo .
  • David C. Campbell , a United States Navy veteran . His life story is recalled by his partner Tracey Torrey. Torrey is also remembered in the film, as he himself died of AIDS during the filming.

In parallel to the stories about the lives of these people, the history of the NAMES project is also traced. In addition, the reaction - or the impression of a lack of reaction - of the administration under President Ronald Reagan to the beginning epidemic is discussed in retrospect . Furthermore, the structure of the first AIDS aid organizations and actions by AIDS activists are described in the film. For example through Bobbi Campbell , the organization Gay Men's Health Crisis and Larry Kramer , one of the co-founders of Act Up .

Production notes

Directed by Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman , who also wrote the script with Cindy Ruskin. The film is also produced by Epstein and Friedman, as well as Bill Couturié and Sandy Gallin. The music for the film is by Bobby McFerrin . The film, made for HBO, is based on the book The Quilt - Stories From The NAMES Project by Cindy Ruskin with photographs by Matt Herron.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New York Times: Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt

Web links