An independent performance film featuring artists from around the world will be screened in Brighton ahead of World AIDS Day as part of celebrations marking the sixth anniversary of HIV awareness organisation HIV The Naked Truth.
The film, HIV The Naked Truth, will be shown at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse on Saturday, 28 November, bringing together members of the HIV community, allies and creatives for an event hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars Asttina Mandella and Mimi Chanel.
Shot during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the production was filmed across London, San Francisco, Italy and Oman. It features a line-up of internationally recognised performers including former Royal Ballet principal Mara Galeazzi, ballerina Sasha Mukhamedov, dancer Danilo Palmieri and musical theatre performer Arun Blair-Mangat.
According to HIV The Naked Truth, the film was created to explore the realities of living with HIV through art, with performers using dance, music and movement to convey messages of resilience, hope and connection during a period of global uncertainty.
The screening forms part of the organisation’s World AIDS Day commemorations and revisits one of its earliest creative projects six years after the charity was founded.
Funds raised through ticket sales and donations on the day will support two HIV charities, London-based Positive East and Brighton’s Lunch Positive. Both organisations provide practical and emotional support for people living with HIV, including testing services, counselling and peer-led programmes.
Joshua Royal, founder of HIV The Naked Truth, said: “It is incredibly special to look back at this film now. We created it during a time when international travel and collaboration had been brought to an almost complete standstill, yet artists from across the world still found a way to come together and create something meaningful.
“I feel incredibly proud of what we achieved then, and even prouder to be able to share it with our community in Brighton for World AIDS Day.”
Tickets are available through Outsavvy.
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