The Gift

June 6, 2003 New York Times CRITIC'S CHOICE

Forsaking Health to Join the H.I.V. Club By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Doug Hitzel in Louise Hogarth's documentary, "The Gift," part of NewFest 2003: The New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Far and away the most important selection in NewFest 2003: The New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, celebrating its 15th anniversary, is Louise Hogarth's alarming documentary, "The Gift." This film, to be screened at the New York University Cantor Film Center tomorrow evening, examines the increasing ineffectiveness of safer-sex education in urban gay culture and the resulting rise in H.I.V.-infection rates among younger men. The title refers to a small, Internet-fed subculture that romanticizes H.I.V. infection in ritualized initiations known as conversion parties, at which the virus, known as "the gift," is passed to so-called bug-chasers. A subject that could easily have been sensationalized is treated evenhandedly in a film that suggests that in an effort not to offend those who are H.I.V.-positive, AIDS educators have sent out messages that are too vague and timid to register. The misleading ads for drugs that have kept AIDS patients alive show robust, sexy musclemen who seem carefree and asymptomatic. Several men who give and attend large, organized sex parties testify that revealing your H.I.V. status has become an unspoken taboo at such affairs, and that the use of condoms is now optional and in some cases even discouraged. Two young men who deliberately became infected are also interviewed. One is tearfully regretful about his decision, the other relieved because he figures that he has a few more years of good health and freedom from worry before he becomes ill. For the first man, an insecure outsider longing for acceptance, the allure of infection was a feeling of belonging to a club. For the second it was the more nihilistic decision to live for the moment. Reflecting on the shift in attitude is a support group of older AIDS patients, all suffering life-threatening cardiovascular side effects from the medications that are keeping them alive. The tone of their conversation mixes sadness with anger at the degree to which many urban gay men have blinded themselves to an unpleasant truth. The young men seeking "the gift' simply don't know what awaits them. Linda Goode Bryant's documentary "Flag Wars," showing tonight at the Cantor Film Center, takes a hardheaded look at urban gentrification and what happens when a working-class (largely African-American) neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, becomes a mecca for middle-class lesbian and gay homeowners. As the city declares the neighborhood a historic district, stringent new restrictions force many residents to abandon the neighborhood in which they grew up. This year's festival is more internationalist than ever. Last night's festival-opening film, "Mambo Italiano," has been described as a gay Italian-American "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The closing-night film (on June 15), "Merci Dr. Rey," is a French farce starring Dianne Wiest as an American opera diva who returns to Paris, where her gay son lives. The protagonist of the Sri Lankan comedy "Flying With One Wing" is a mechanic (married to a woman) who has successfully passed as a man until a doctor, treating an injury, discovers her secret. "Gasoline" suggests an Italian lesbian "Thelma and Louise." "Yossi and Jagger" is the love story of two Israeli soldiers. "Kiki and Tiger," set in Germany on the eve of the war in Kosovo, explores the interplay of sex and politics in the friendship of a gay Serb who falls in love with a straight illegal immigrant from Albania. Whether the setting is Sri Lanka or Israel or Germany, the gay and lesbian characters face variations of the same social pressures, stereotyping and potential violence that they do in the United States.

I say that everyone should see this film at least once in their lifetime because it hits on a number of issues that deserve serious attention from everybody. We can all benefit from what Louise has to say.

People hear about gay men who want to have HIV and AIDS and they automatically assume that they're crazy and should be stayed away from. Or even worse, they think it's some kind of a joke. I approached this topic knowing next to nothing, and by the time the documentary was over, I had tears in my eyes. Louise captured their message and presents it to us loud and clear.

You don't have to be gay to be able to relate their stories to your own. We all feel the pressures that they felt, the fears that they felt, and the hopelessness, and instead of recognizing this, we decide to turn away. But everyone can stand to add a little compassion and understanding to their lives.

As a State Health Department HIV Prevention Program, we provide regular training opportunities for local health departments and community-based organizations. We offer a two-day workshop six times each year designed to improve the skills of individuals who provide HIV Counseling, Testing and Referral Services.

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 characters—they 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.

I've never seen a documentary filled with so many annoying people, both those who did and didn't want to be HIV+. Haven't seen many that are this poorly filmed and edited. This could have been something constructive, something helpful. The subjects in this documentary are not only allowed to make fools of themselves, they're allowed to make false or exaggerated claims repeatedly, i.e. all gay men over 40 are HIV+ or virgins.

While the topic is dreadfully serious (why I've given a four rather than one or two) and begs for discussion and action, this documentary does little more to advance either than a thirty second PSA. If this goes to DVD, think twice before renting, let alone buying.

Gift, The (2003)

*** (out of 4)

Here's an incredibly disturbing and shocking documentary from director Louise Hogarth. My girlfriend and I were talking on the phone and flipping through upcoming films when she read the description of this thing and I couldn't believe it so I recorded the film. The documentary is about a bunch of gay men who are out there hoping to get infected with the HIV virus. The "reasons" were what I was most interested in but some of them want AIDS so that they can have unprotected sex without having to worry about catching it. Some want AIDS because it's the cool thing to do within the gay community. Apparently these people feel AIDS will mean they are "really gay". This is without a doubt one of the most troubling documentaries that I've ever seen because it actually scared the hell out of me. As a straight male I enjoy going out with my friends and picking up women and while I know all about AIDS, this doc scared the living crap out of me because of what these people are talking about. Apparently positive and negative members attend "don't ask, don't tell" sex parties where no condoms are used so they leave these parties not knowing if they are infected or not. Countless other horror stories are covered in this thing, which is truly eye opening even to those who are pretty familiar with all the truths and lies around the disease.