Rayceen Pendarvis accepted an invitation to host Reel Affirmations Presents In Honor of World AIDS Day: After Louie. Director Vincent Gagliostro's film explores the contradictions of modern gay life and history through Sam (Alan Cumming), a man desperate to understand how he and his community got to where they are today.
As an artist, AIDS activist, and former member of ACT UP in the 1980s and 90s, Sam lived through the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and emerged a scarred man still struggling with survivor’s guilt. He eventually becomes bewildered by the younger generation of carefree gay men with their uninhibited use of social media, sexting, and political indifference.
Late one night at a bar, an unexpected intimacy with Braeden (Zachary Booth) - a seductive much younger man - challenges Sam's understanding of contemporary gay life. As the pair become increasingly intimate, an intergenerational relationship blossoms between them and Sam is forced to deal with the trauma that so informs his past, their present, and an unknown future.
As the title suggests, the special event served to honor World AIDS Day, a day set aside annually in an effort to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic, while also providing an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to stand in solidarity with those living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.
Reel Affirmations - Washington DC’s International LGBT Film Festival - is one of the largest LGBT film festivals (in terms of attendance) in the United States. Each month the organization consistently offers new and exciting international, documentary, short, and feature films, as well as panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, and various celebrations.
The special theatrical screening was held at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Center in Washington, DC.
Click below to view the Official Film Trailer.
For more information visit: Reel Affirmations
