The annual observance of World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. Many television networks have scheduled a number of educational and entertainment programming this weekend to coincide with the observance and the issue of HIV/AIDS.
The variety of programs illustrates not only the diversity of people facing this disease but also the many perspectives our community has on observing the day, from unflinching documentaries to insightful theatrical releases, both dramatic and comedic.
Also evident is the range of networks — cable networks — with special programming connected to the topic of HIV/AIDS this weekend, including National Geographic Channel, LOGO-TV, here!-TV, Showtime and the Sundance Channel.
GLAAD lists a full menu of these broadcast features on its Website. Here is a sample of the Dec 1 airings, many that I’ve already seen and enjoyed, with my perspective noted below.
- "The Ride: Seven Days to End AIDS" (Logo, 8 AM ET/PT)
This original documentary series follows a diverse group of cyclists taking part in AIDS/Lifecycle 4, a 585-miles race to raise money for HIV and AIDS research.
I’ve seen parts of this series several times in the past two years of regular rotation on LOGO, and these real-life stories are heartwarming and emotional every time.
- "Longtime Companion" (Logo, 11 AM ET/PT)
Set in 1981 – but made in 1990 – this feature film follows eight people’s lives and shows how they were each affected by the AIDS crisis, when AIDS was being referred to as a "gay cancer."
This is the earliest movie I recall on the subject, and it was a stirring and educational piece to see as a young adult in small-town Texas with little to no real-life exposure to HIV/AIDS.
- "The Origins of AIDS" (Sundance, 4:00 PM ET/PT)
This documentary investigates a theory detailed in journalist Edward Hooper’s controversial book "The River," addressing the possibility that the deadliest disease known to humankind came as a result of a risky, mass inoculation of an experimental polio vaccine during the late 1950s.
This one has been on my radar since I heard about Hooper’s book, and I’m curious to see how it plays in documentary format.
- "Positive Voices: Matthew Cusick" (Sundance, 5:45 PM ET/PT)
This 12-minute documentary focuses on the workplace discrimination against Matthew Cusick, an HIV-positive performer with Cirque du Soleil.
His was an issue I followed closely in gay and mainstream media as it unfolded a few years ago, and more recently in my work with the 2006 Gay Games, for which Cusick was an ambassador.
- "In the Gloaming" (Logo, 6 PM ET/PT)
In this 1997 film, Danny (Robert Sean Leonard) is a gay man dying of AIDS-related causes. He returns home so that his mother (Glenn Close) can take care of him.
It’s Glenn Close! No other comment is necessary.
- "Jeffrey" (Logo, 7:30 PM ET/PT)
In this 1995 dramedy, Jeffrey (Steven Weber) is a young gay man living in New York City, frustrated with the singles scene. He then meets Steve (Michael T. Weiss), the man of his dreams who happens to be HIV-positive.
It was a great play and a great movie. Additionally, it’s particularly close to me as I was in the cast of a community theatre production that played to surprisingly large crowds in Lubbock, Texas, in the early 1990s.
- "3 Needles" (Showtime Too, 9:00 PM ET/PT)
This 2006 feature film weaves three separate tales of how HIV and AIDS has affected humanity on a global scale.
This is one that I already have on my DVR menu because, although I didn’t free time to see it during its theatrical release, I followed the movie with great interest since its wide release last year to critical kudos and a full force media tour.
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