Phil Zwickler (June 1, 1954 - May 7, 1991)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Phil Zwickler was a filmmaker and writer about gay and lesbian issues and the AIDS crisis, born June 1, 1954 and died from the complications of AIDS on May 7, 1991.

With Jane Lippman, he produced and directed "Rights and Reactions: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial," an award-winning documentary covering the 1986 New York City Council hearings on the gay rights bill.

Zwickler collaborated with David Wojnarowicz to produce "Fear of Disclosure," a short film about the issues gay men face dating in the context of AIDS.

Zwickler also worked with experimental German film maker, Rosa von Praunheim, to produce "Silence Equals Death" and "Positive," both exploring the emotions and anger of people with AIDS. The film "Positive" includes interviews with Zwickler and two other men who were HIV-positive.

He produced his final project, "The Needle Nightmares" (1991), with the help of David Meieran.

Zwickler also worked as a news reporter, publishing stories in the Village Voice and serving as editor of the People with AIDS Coalition Newsline for a number of years.

Before working in film and journalism, he taught literature in New York City public schools and community colleges.

The photographs, documents, and videos in the Phil Zwickler Collection at Cornell college allow researchers to look 'behind-the-scenes' at how political documentaries are made and brought to the public, at what motivated Phil Zwickler in the creation of his art, and at personal perspectives on AIDS issues, LBGT rights, and civil rights in general.

Source: http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM07564.html


Phil Zwickler by Robert Giard

American photographer Robert Giard is renowned for his portraits of American poets and writers; his particular focus was on gay and lesbian writers. Some of his photographs of the American gay and lesbian literary community appear in his groundbreaking book Particular Voices: Portraits of Gay and Lesbian Writers, published by MIT Press in 1997. Giard’s stated mission was to define the literary history and cultural identity of gays and lesbians for the mainstream of American society, which perceived them as disparate, marginal individuals possessing neither. In all, he photographed more than 600 writers. (http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/giard.html)

More Particular Voices at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Particular Voices

Comments

[shadownyc.livejournal.com]

I actually remember this very important figure in the battle to bring light and help for the AIDS Crisis.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

it's very nice that after 21 years someone is still remembering him; it was quite difficult to find info on Phil Zwickler on the net, only Positive is available in VHS, and the only entry I found is from the Cornell University helding his papers.