A unique record of the HIV and AIDS epidemic

For more than thirty years, the Swedish film director and journalist Staffan Hildebrand has documented the global impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Karolinska Institutet is in the process of making this unique film collection available online as The Face of AIDS Film Archive. Read more about the archive »

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A Visual History

News

Samples from the archive

The total stock of the online archive amounts to some 700 hours of filmed material from all over the world divided in about 2000 videos.
01:08:34

The Longest Journey is the Journey Within 2015

This is the story about Steve Sjöquist - writer, HIV activist and deacon at Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset in Stockholm. Steve was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and he was one of the first Swedish AIDS patients to get the new antiretroviral therapy in 1996. It saved his life.
HIV and AIDS History
Activism & NGO:s
Personal Stories
2015_den-langsta-resan-ar-resan-inat_eng-sub
Public (Level 1)
01:00:00

Transmission Cambodia 2014

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.
Australia
Activism & NGO:s
Key Populations
Men Who Have Sex With Men
Sex Workers
People Who Inject Drugs
Transgender People
Women and AIDS
2014_transmission_edited
Public (Level 1)

Living with HIV in Sweden

Living with HIV in Sweden is the first extensive study in Sweden where quality of life has been studied among people living with HIV. In total, 1096 individuals responded to an anonymous survey that included different aspects of self-rated quality of life. The survey was available in 10 different languages. The study was performed at 15 healthcare units for infectious diseases in Sweden – that account for 75% of the HIV care in the country – and at two needle and syringe exchange clinics in Stockholm.
author info

Anna-Mia Ekström
Clinical professor in infectious disease epidemiology
Karolinska Institutet

00:23:00

Passing on the Torch Cambodia 2012

Interviews with young HIV and AIDS activists from Cambodia, Mexico, Sweden, South Africa, and the United States, on youth, HIV and AIDS.
Sweden
Activism & NGO:s
Youth
2012_passing_on_the_torch_edited
Public (Level 1)
00:37:00

From Stigma to Hope Cambodia 2011

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.
Australia
HIV and AIDS History
Activism & NGO:s
Stigma
2011_from_stigma_to_hope_hsph_edited
Public (Level 1)

Activists from around the world

AIDS activism is almost as old as the epidemic itself. From the beginning of the AIDS crisis, activists fought to bring about medical research, treatment and legislation. Aids activism tends to be immediately associated with ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), the influential direct action movement which started in the US.  Most well-known is ACT UP New York. Its AIDS Activist Video movement has been widely documented, for instance in Jim Hubbard’s documentary United in Anger (USA 2012), and its archive is accessible at the New York Public Library...
author info

Dagmar Brunow
Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, Linnaeus University

00:19:00

Frontliners Malawi 2009

This is a documentary about community networks in Southern Africa focusing on educating people about HIV prevention and providing support and care for people living with HIV and AIDS.
Zimbabwe
Activism & NGO:s
Treatment and Care
2009_sat_frontliners_edited
Public (Level 1)
00:24:51

Women at the Frontline Kenya 2008

This is the story of four women living with HIV, who are active in the work against HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, Bolivia, Kenya and Sweden. They tell about their lives and their work with health education, advocacy, and support of women and children.
Sweden
Activism & NGO:s
Women and AIDS
2008_women_at_the_frontline
Public (Level 1)
00:05:50

2008_95_edited Sweden 2008

The American actress Sharon Stone talks about her memories of Rock Hudson who died of AIDS in 1985. She reflects on the time of the AIDS outbreak and the fear and ignorance surrounding the disease in the 1980's.
Sweden
Stockholm
Personal Stories
Stigma
2008_95_edited
Public (Level 1)
00:23:50

America and AIDS USA 2007

This film tells the US story of the AIDS epidemic starting in the early 1980's. Scientists and activists, both pioneers and youths of today, talk about research, prevention, treatment and care. They also discuss stigma, homophobia and poverty as closely related to HIV and AIDS.
USA
HIV and AIDS History
Activism & NGO:s
Science/Research
2007_america_and_aids_edited
Public (Level 1)

AIDS – Metaphor and Reality

“AIDS – Metaphor and Reality” in October 1986 was one of the first international conferences on HIV and AIDS in Europe. Staffan Hildebrand and his team documented the conference and made short interviews with some of the keynote speakers and participants. The film AIDS – föreställningar om en verklighet <em>("AIDS – Metaphor and Reality")&nbsp;<em>presents some of the leading voices in the international AIDS discourse and politics at the time. But the film is also a unique documentation of four young individuals and their experiences of how to live with HIV in Sweden in the mid 1980s....
author info

David Thorsén
Senior Lecturer, Department of Education, Stockholm University

00:49:05

AIDS - The Global Challenge Cambodia 1998

This film is about the global AIDS situation. The film starts in Europe and the United States and ends up in Zimbabwe and Uganda. It tells about the global disparities of drug access, but also about the successful HIV and AIDS responses of Thailand, Cambodia and Uganda.
Sweden
Key Populations
Men Who Have Sex With Men
Sex Workers
People Who Inject Drugs
Women and AIDS
1998_global_challenge_edited
Public (Level 1)

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