Too Close for Comfort (film)
Too Close for Comfort | |
---|---|
Directed by | Peg Campbell |
Written by | Gay Hawley Cindy Leaney |
Produced by | Gay Hawley |
Starring | Stephen Fanning Peter Stebbings |
Edited by | Bill Campbell |
Production company | Wild Ginger Productions |
Distributed by | Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre |
Release date |
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Running time | 25 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Too Close for Comfort is a Canadian docudrama short film, directed by Peg Campbell and released in 1990.[1] Created as an educational film about HIV/AIDS, the film explores the effects on a group of high school students when one of them is involuntarily outed as HIV-positive.[2]
The film stars Stephen Fanning as Nick, a high school basketball player who is fired from his after-school job at a video store when his boss is informed of his HIV status. As the information spreads, some of Nick's friends immediately reject him because they incorrectly assume that he is gay; however, some of his other friends rally around him and start to work on an educational video about HIV and homophobia, inserting the film's educational component as they interview real people living with HIV about the disease.[3] The film also simultaneously follows the progression of David (Peter Stebbings) from being the person who first tipped off their friends about what happened at the video store, through joining the filmmaking project, to revealing that he has himself been struggling with internalized homophobia around his own sexuality.[3]
The film premiered at the Pacific Cinémathèque on December 1, 1990.[4] It was subsequently distributed for use in schools, along with a study guide on HIV and anti-homophobia education.[1] An extended version of the film's documentary component was also separately released in 1991 under the title Eric's Video.[5]
The film won the TVOntario Prize for Best Youth Documentary at the 1992 Banff Television Festival.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Alexandra Juhasz and Catherine Gund, AIDS TV: Identity, Community, and Alternative Video. Duke University Press, 1995. ISBN 9780822316954. pp. 293-294.
- ^ "Reaction of teens disturbs film-maker". Vancouver Sun, November 30, 1990.
- ^ a b "A fast half-hour of stereotype-busting". Vancouver Sun, April 27, 1991.
- ^ "Keeping an eye on the dark side: Filmmaker Peg Campbell has turned her camera on wife assault, racism and street kids. Her latest focus is an educational film about AIDS". The Globe and Mail, December 1, 1990.
- ^ Alex Spence, Gay Canada: A Bibliography and Videography, 1984-2008. University of Saskatchewan.
- 1990 films
- Canadian docudrama films
- Canadian LGBT-related short films
- 1990s LGBT-related drama films
- 1990 LGBT-related films
- Documentary films about HIV/AIDS
- 1990s English-language films
- Canadian drama short films
- HIV/AIDS in Canadian films
- 1990s Canadian films
- Canadian educational films
- Canadian LGBT-related documentary films
- Canadian teen LGBT-related films
- 1990s Canadian film stubs
- 1990s documentary film stubs
- Canadian documentary film stubs