''The Other Side of AIDS'' is a 2004

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

film by Robin Scovill. Through interviews with prominent

AIDS denialists HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while othe ...

and

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

people who have refused anti-HIV medication, the film makes the claim that

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

is not the cause of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and that HIV treatments are harmful, conclusions which are rejected by medical and scientific consensus. The film was reviewed in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' and ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' in 2004, and received additional attention in 2005, when Scovill's three-year-old daughter died of untreated AIDS.

Background and content

The film opens with the April 23, 1984 press conference of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services,

Margaret Heckler Margaret Mary Heckler (née O'Shaughnessy; June 21, 1931 – August 6, 2018) was an American politician and diplomat who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 until 1983. A member of the Republican Party, she al ...

, announcing the discovery of HIV. It then moves to the appearance of HIV/AIDS denialist Christine Maggiore at a

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

concert organized by bassist

Nate Mendel Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician who is the bass guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, as well as a former member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He has also worked with musical acts The Jealous Sound and ...

in support of Maggiore's group,

Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives (formerly HEAL, Health Education AIDS Liaison) is a 501(c) non-profit organization of AIDS denialists. The organization's stated mission is to "present information that raises questions about the accuracy of HIV tes ...

. The interviewees include

Peter Duesberg Peter Heinz Hermann Duesberg (born December 2, 1936) is a German-American molecular biologist and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his early research into the genetic aspects o ...

, a professor "whose stock in the scientific community declined sharply once he began second-guessing the role of HIV" in AIDS, and Christine Maggiore, whose organization "militates against HIV drug treatments." ''

'' notes that Maggiore is the wife of the director/producer, a fact the film omits. In addition to these two prominent AIDS denialists, the documentary features several HIV-positive people who have refused anti-HIV medications. Along with Maggiore, they blame AIDS deaths in part on negative thinking by victims, a "fatalism" they say is encouraged by support groups. Several also blame AIDS on the "gay lifestyle". The film does not make a substantial attempt to balance the beliefs of AIDS denialists with the conclusions of medical scientists that HIV causes AIDS.The Hollywood Reporter review
Kirk Honeycutt, November 12, 2004 Although two AIDS researchers are interviewed, both reviews of the film remark that these representatives seem to have been cast specifically to portray researchers in a negative light. ''Variety'' refers to the two as "fanatics", people chosen by Scovill because their displayed emotions outweigh their "perfectly rational" arguments. AIDS Researcher Julio Montaner, interviewed around the film's Vancouver premiere, said that such emotion comes from fear for patients who may take the film's arguments seriously: "The success of the drugs depends to a high degree on the commitment of the patient to take the medication properly." In the documentary, produced in 2004, Scovill's HIV-positive wife, Christine Maggiore claimed that she and her two children were healthy despite not taking anti-HIV medications. In 2005, Maggiore's and Scovill's three-year-old daughter, Eliza Jane, died of complications of untreated AIDS. In 2008, Maggiore herself died at the age of 52 after a protracted bout of pneumonia, with several other AIDS-related illnesses.Link to death certificate
The executive producer of ''The Other Side of AIDS'' was Robert Leppo, a venture capitalist who has also funded the activities of well-known AIDS denialist Peter Duesberg.

Music

The film features a score by Brad Mossman along with the songs "

Stacked Actors "Stacked Actors" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters which was released as a single in January 2000 from their 1999 third album '' There Is Nothing Left to Lose''. It was only released as a limited edition commercial single in Australia ...

" and " Learn to Fly" by

, and "Join Life" by Warm Wires.

Release

''The Other Side of AIDS'' premiered on VHS at the

New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, put on by NewFest (legal name The New Festival, Inc.), is the largest LGBTQ film festival in the United States and one of the most comprehensive forums of national and inte ...

(Newfest) on June 13, 2004, drawing criticism from the

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

(ACT UP). The film had its international premiere at the 2004

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

on 24 September 2004. It was shown at the

AFI AFI may refer to: * Actual flip-angle imaging, a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2017 album), the tenth ...

Los Angeles International Film Festival on November 8, 2004, where it received special mention in the International Documentary category.

Critical reception

''The Other Side of AIDS'' was reviewed in ''

'' and, briefly, in ''

''. ''Variety'' concluded that while the documentary "fails to present a particularly compelling argument," it succeeds in making the viewer "root for the underdog" by contrasting a long line of sympathetic AIDS denialists with two angry researchers. The review says the strongest argument in the film is an emotional allegation that the government forcibly takes children from HIV-positive parents in the United States, while the weakest point is its tendency to "place the blame or the AIDS epidemicexclusively on homosexual behavior." ''The Hollywood Reporter'' states that the film is "a substantial contribution to the international debate about the AIDS epidemic", but faults it for being technically "pedestrian", composed mostly of "talking heads and printed information onscreen".

References

External links