Program One - "Community"

"Like me, some of you may be living with HIV or AIDS in your families or among your friends. Your dad may have HIV, or your mom, or your brother or sister. My advice to you is don't be afraid to love them. They need lots of love." -Stephanie Gerus, age 10, author of My Parents Have HIV/AIDS

"This building is not a crack-house anymore. It's a community house. It's the home of people living with HIV, experiencing hope." -Louis Jones, founder of Stand Up Harlem

One in three Americans know someone infected with HIV. "Community," program one of the four-part series POSITIVE: LIFE WITH HIV, introduces viewers to a broad range of people with HIV, many of whom have not seen themselves represented in the media. It explores the ways that people with HIV find support, sometimes from their communities and families, but more often from new families of friends, care providers, and others.

Chorus: (in order of appearance)

Peter Canavan, Greg Payton. Brenda Salters, ChristopherMiller, Alice Terson, Julie Pecaroni, Chase Mullins, Geneva Morrison, Shanti Santana, Devi Glazier, John Manzon, Richard Elovich, Marina Alvarez, Jerry Rosanbalm, Beverly Rotter, Frank Matthews, Wendy Levine, Elena Schwolsky-Fitch. Brian Perry, Dr. Manuel Rivera, Dr. Howard Grossman

Stand Up Harlem
Producer/Director: Juanita Anderson and Daresha Kyi
Coproducer: Thomas Poole

A Harlem community works together to reclaim crack-infested brownstones and provide housing and HIV/AIDS services. Founder and former prisoner Louis Jones, tired of seeing his friends die alone around him, decided to "stand up," publicly admit his own positive status, and work to create a place "where the question isn't when's the last time you 'used,' hut when's the last time you ate and are you hungry?"

Pussywillow
Producer/Director: Calogero Salvo

Performance artist Penny Arcade expresses her rage at so much sickness and death, and at the neglect and indifference those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS face. "It's been sold and it's been bought that people get AIDS because it's a punishment for their sins. ..Just punishment, that's all we talk about in this country, just punishment....

Stephanie
Producer/Director: Daresha Kyi

Through her own drawings and words, ten-year-old Stephanie Gerus introduces viewers to her suburban Detroit family, talks about her mom, her dad's death, and her book My Parents Have HIV/AIDS, as she presents kids with what they need to know now. She reads, "I don't have AIDS, but I'm worried sometimes because my dad is sick a lot. I wonder what will happen if my mom gets sick too." Stephanie's mom, Kathy Gerus, was recently appointed to serve on President Clinton's Commission on AIDS.

The Angel
Producer/Director: Lourdes Portillo

A leather-jacketed angel with attitude (comedian/actress Marga Gomez) provides a probing satirical overview of a world that isn't dealing too well with the AIDS crisis.

Lam Duc Kim
Producer/Director: Christine Choy

The intricacies of culture are explored in the story of 22-year-old Lam Duc Kim. Born in Vietnam and raised in New York City, Lam learned he was HIV positive at 20. Now he must deal with breaking generational norms as he asks for his mother's support and continued love. "It's hard for me to talk to my mother about things like this, especially because I know that what I have to say will upset her." Rap artist Ismael Butler of the group Digable Planets makes a cameo appearance performing "Where I'm From."

Harry and Dr. Lydia
Producer/Director: Ellen Spiro

Harry lives in the rural community of Wagner, Kansas. Harry believes that his life has improved since meeting Dr. Lydia Moore and attending her family practice clinic outside of Kansas City, although he travels two hours to get there. "People need to know they're loved and being listened to," says Dr. Lydia. "And their family, whether it be their biological family or their chosen family, all of those people are important to include in their health care. Without that, all the pills and potions in the world aren't going to do them much good." [Note: Lydia Moore, MD, died in an auto accident in 1994.]

John and Kevin
Producer/Director: Blake MacAluso

Forced to retire when his own T-cell count dropped to 25, John Cantu finds his greatest joy in his relationship with his life-partner Kevin. Diagnosed seven years ago, John has just recently shared this part of his life with his Mexican immigrant parents and Kevin's Lutheran congregation. With this newfound support, Kevin and John live out their bittersweet love story.

Also featured:

Queer and Loathing with David Feinberg
Animator: Dean Kendrick

Scattered throughout the POSITIVE series are animated excerpts from Queer and Loathing (Viking Penguin), David Feinberg's humorously cynical lamentations on living with HIV. Community's excerpts look at disclosure. Feinberg provides the narration on these segments, completed before the author's death from AIDS.

Tips from Tab Lloyd
Writer/Producer: Richard Cardran, a.k.a. Tab Lloyd

Throughout the series, "Tab Lloyd" offers advice ranging from the practical to the hysterical. Community's tips center on "social worker protocol."

David Rousseve and Reality
Producer/Director: Ayoka Chenzira

Throughout the series, choreographer/dancer David Rousseve and members of his company. Reality. provide moving testimony to the strengths and needs of living with the epidemic.