Controversial documentary about gay men purposely contracting the AIDS virus.Controversial documentary about gay men purposely contracting the AIDS virus.Controversial documentary about gay men purposely contracting the AIDS virus.
- Director
- Writer
- Star
- Awards
- 3 wins
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- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe participants "Kenboy" and Doug Hitzel both died in 2017. Hitzel's cause of death was not made public by his family but he was only 35 years old at the time.
- Quotes
Bill: Kenboy has rented the dungeon to have a party tonight. About 150 guys are coming, and they're from his list. He's invited guys and then we have a list, and we've invited them, and they're coming here for our standard fuck party, that we generally hold here once a month. I mean, the rules have always been no drugs, no attitude, no condoms, no clothing. We do allow condoms now if guys wanna use them, we have no problem, but a hundred guys, a hundred twenty guys at the party, we'll find two or three condoms the next morning on the floor. That's it.
- ConnectionsReferences Will & Grace (1998)
Integrated into the curriculum is a documentary called "The Gift" by filmmaker Louise Hogarth. The film presents varied points of view on the controversial practice called "bug chasing", a term used to describe the efforts of some individuals who are choosing to become infected with HIV. Although the film is primarily centered on this phenomenon, a number of other very relevant issues are introduced by the film.
Increasing others' awareness of the practice of "bug chasing" is just one outcome we have seen in the showing of the film. More importantly, by presenting the experiences of a few individuals in extreme situations, "The Gift" brings about a better understanding of the complex and common reasons why anyone might risk becoming infected with HIV, even the majority of people who are not "bug chasers".
We show the film over the course of two days followed by a facilitated discussion. We ask the group the following questions to help broaden the scope of the film and the situations to which the film's messages might apply: Despite great risk, two characters openly sought "the bug" to be part of a group with which they identified. In what other ways might the desire to belong impact the individuals that you work with? There was a sense of fatalism expressed by some of the charactersthey seemed to believe that contracting HIV was inevitable. How does this type of fatalism manifest itself among the individuals that you work with? How might it impact their risk-taking behavior? "Culture" encompasses many aspects of a person's identification including past experiences, background and group affiliation. In your setting, how might an individual's culture impact how prevention services are delivered?
The majority of workshop participants over the past two years have responded very positively to the film. Many reported that experiencing "The Gift" was the part of the workshop that they liked the most. Others continue to express that since viewing "The Gift", the effectiveness of their interactions with individuals at risk for HIV has improved.
- julie-yu
- Nov 10, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- ザ・ギフト
- Filming locations
- Castro Street, San Francisco, California, USA(street scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 2 minutes
- Color