Tag Archives: buddies

"Buddies" The First Feature Movie About The AIDS Epidemic Restored After 33 Years

“Buddies” The First Feature Movie About The AIDS Epidemic Restored After 33 Years – TRAILER

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“Buddies,” was the first feature film about AIDS released in 1985, preceding An Early Frost  by two months.  It was a snapshot of the incredible struggle and fight between life and death for gay men in New York City during the darkest hours of the epidemic.

The movie made its debut at the Castro Theater in San Francisco on Sept. 12, 1985, and then went on to independent art-house runs in New York, Boston, Chicago and other cities before being lost and forgotten for over 30 years.

“Buddies” is about  Robert (Geoff Edholm), a 32-year-old gay man dying of AIDS, who is visited at the hospital by David (David Schachter), a 25-year-old volunteer “buddy.” Man gay men (and lesbians) volunteered as “buddies” in New York City to take care for the many gay men who were alone and came down with the deadly disease . Robert and David develop a friendship that eventually becomes intimate. The film ends with Robert’s death; David, emboldened by Robert’s activist spirit, pickets the White House.(Ronald Reagan who was President at that time turned his back on thousands of gay men who were dying from the dreaded disease.)

Vinegar Syndrome, in collaboration with the Bressan Project, has released a new digital restoration of “Buddies.” on Blu-ray/DVD via Vinegar Syndrome and  Amazon and o plans are underway to make it available for streaming next year through Frameline Distribution.

​The film is also available for exhibition at film festivals, colleges and other venues via Frameline Distribution — just click here for more info.

*HT to NYC gay activist Christopher Leonard

 

Daz and Chip: Male Otter Buddies Together Forever

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Daz and Chip two elderly otters who were best friends and lived side-by-side for 15 years have both passed away within an hour of each other. It’s thought the second heartbroken animal passed away from the stress of watching his mate die.

Zookeeper John Miller said the Asian otters, who were 19 and 16 years-old, had been best friends for 15 years and it’s thought that having each other for company kept them alive beyond the normal otter life-span of 14 years.

According to handler Gail Sutton, the pair lived to nearly 100 in human years. ‘The only consolation from this is that they both went together because if one had gone without the other, the remaining one would have been really lost.

I hope both Daz and Chip are together and happy in otter heaven having a cracking a feast of clams and together forever.