*** Fighting for LGBTQ Rights *** Standing Up to Tyranny

1. Robin Campillo's astonishing "120 Beats per Minute" is the most widely seen recent film to tackle queer activism through drama. It focuses on the Paris wing of ACT UP – the AIDs Coalition to Unleash Power, an ad-hoc, direct-action protest organisation established by Larry Kramer in 1987 at the height of the AIDS crisis. Campillo's film is split into two key narratives that interweave generously: the relationship of two activists, Nathan (Arnaud Valois) and Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart), the latter of whom is HIV-positive; and candid meetings of the ACT UP chapter to which Nathan and Sean belong. From the rafters we watch queer people fight for their lives, against inept goverments, social stigma and clandestine medical institutions. Rarely has the urgency to survive felt so palpable. Have you seen "120 Beats per Minute"?

2. "Larry Kramer: In Love and Anger" is a candid portrait of Kramer's tumultuous life and divisive career, capturing everything from his tumultuous adolescence in an 'anti-sissy' household to his passionate rage towards a heteronormative dominance that would see his friends and colleagues perish. Much like the works of David France, the film takes a largely archival approach: scenes from throughout Kramer's career are woven together to form a meditative study on the man who, despite his infamously abrasive manner, ranks among the most important of all queer activists. is a candid portrait of Kramer's tumultuous life and divisive career, capturing everything from his tumultuous adolescence in an 'anti-sissy' household to his passionate rage towards a heteronormative dominance that would see his friends and colleagues perish. Much like the works of David France, the film takes a largely archival approach: scenes from throughout Kramer's career are woven together to form a meditative study on the man who, despite his infamously abrasive manner, ranks among the most important of all queer activists. It is available for FREE on youtube. Have you seen, "Larry Kramer: In Love and Anger"?

3. The Normal Heart (2014) Ryan Murphy's HBO film is certainly the most conventional melodrama on this list, but its sheer accessibility outweighs its safe Hollywood sensibilities. Adapted from Larry Kramer's essential play of the same name, first written for the stage in 1985, The Normal Heart is a dramatised account of Kramer's own experiences throughout the early years of the AIDS epidemic, beginning on 3 July 1981, the day the New York Times ran its first article on the disease. Have you seen "The Normal Heart"?

4. Arthur Kade chats with Larry Kramer at the NY Premiere Of "Larry Kramer: In Love And Anger" Are you familiar with activist Larry Kramer?