Taking Our Chances: An Ethnographic Documentary exploring the sex

FYI. Documentary of in=
terest.  — CF

Friends,

Please indulge what may be seen by some as a slightl=
y off-topic post for some of these lists.

My friend, Surprise (Matthew Feliss) has just made h=
is film fully and freely available.

Taking Our Chances is a hybrid documentary/ethnograp=
hy that explores the sexual culture of young gay men in San Francisco and t=
he complexities that HIV creates within our community–told through th=
e testimonials of 21 young queer people.

My biased opinion is that this somewhat rough-around-the-edges film is bril=
liant at achieving its purpose – capturing without judgment the reali=
ty of how its subjects live, connect, and deal with the presence of HIV in =
their community.  The frankness with which
they reveal their lives is profound.

I have screened this film for about a half dozen div=
erse audiences of gay and bi men.  All have found it genuine, moving, =
and it has without fail been a powerful tool for generating discussion.&nbs=
p; I share Matthew’s wish that it might be used
to help those who are not from within this community but who will be servi=
ng it professionally to achieve cultural understanding and sensitivity.

It is not short attention span theater at a length o=
f about 50 minutes.  Personally I’ve seen something I missed pre=
viously with just about every viewing.

Please share widely as you see fit.  Not that T=
aking Our Chances contains explicit discussion of and depictions of gay sex=
so it may be NSFW in your setting.  

FYI, Surprise has to date been quite generous in providing DVDs to those wh=
o wish to screen the film at a higher quality.

http://taki=
ngourchances.com/

http://vimeo.c=
om/66503754

mark

Mark Hubbard

Education Liaison, Ten=
nessee Association of People With AIDS

Nashville TN