Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival 2008

Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M hustler turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited. Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic demanding a solution to the problem long before those both within and outside of the gay community would take heed. However, it was not Berkowitz's voice alone that sparked contention. Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a controversial virologist and AIDS doctor, postulated that AIDS was more complicated than just a new virus. With Sonnabend's theory in tow, Berkowitz fought, alongside beloved activist and musician Michael Callen, for safer sex practices with out giving up on sex altogether. Sex Positive explores the explicit bravery of this unrecognized triumvirate, and their dire quest to save lives in the midst of unwavering dissent. Through the eyes of Mr. Berkowitz, we are made witness to a graphic testimony of sex, death, and betrayal, placing the invention of safe sex in a fresh and compelling context. Now destitute and alone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his story to a world who never wanted to listen.