A unique record of the HIV and AIDS epidemic

The archive contains films describing the global impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic from the 1980s to the present.

San Francisco

Theme - San Francisco

The 23rd International AIDS Conference will be virtual this year. With the theme San Francisco, the Face of AIDS Archive pays tribute to the conference, the city of San Francisco (where the conference was set to be held in the first place) and the achievements made in the HIV response.

Watch documentaries and interviews from the 1980s to the present, hear the voices of activists, patients, researchers and hospital staff.

Historical timeline between 1981-2017

See a historical timeline with stories from the Face of AIDS Archive between 1981-2017.

Learn more about "ground zero" in San Francisco at the beginning of the epidemic, the importance of different activist groups, the breakthrough of antiretroviral therapy and much more. Most importantly, meet affected people and hear their stories.

 

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Samples from the archive

00:07:13

Introduction to The Face of AIDS Film Archive

This is a short film introducing The Face of AIDS Film Archive. It contains clips from the archive, information about the origins of the archive and future plans.
00:16:35

AIDS - Föreställningar om en verklighet

"AIDS – Metaphor and Reality" is the very first Face of AIDS documentary from 1986, experts as well as people living with HIV and AIDS speak about stigma. The main message of this film is that AIDS is a worldwide issue which concerns everyone regardless of their sexual preferences.
00:37:00

From Stigma to Hope

Staffan Hildebrand looks back on his 25 years of documenting the HIV and AIDS epidemic for the Face of AIDS Film Archive. The film portrays a shift from pessimism towards a growing optimism in the response to HIV and AIDS.
01:00:00

Transmission

Staffan Hildebrand returns to Australia, where he started his project of documenting the AIDS epidemic in 1988, and to Cambodia where he first arrived in 1998. He interviews some of the scientists and activists who he met back then and displays some footage from the archive.

As parts of the Face of AIDS Film Archive are being made available online, we have found it necessary to anonymize some of the participants. This may apply to children, people in vulnerable situations, and people who risk persecution in their home countries. If you appear in any of the films presented at this site and you want the content or personal information to be removed, please contact us.