Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt
Encyclopedia
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt is a 1989 documentary film
that tells the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman with a musical score written and performed by Bobby McFerrin, the film focuses on several people who are represented by panels in the Quilt, combining personal reminiscences with archive footage of the subjects, along with footage of various politicians, health professionals and other people with AIDS
. Each section of the film is punctuated with statistics detailing the number of Americans diagnosed with and dead of AIDS through the early years of the epidemic. The film ends with the first display of the complete (to date) Quilt at the National Mall
in Washington, D.C.
during the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
.
The film, made for HBO, was based in part on the book The Quilt: Stories From The NAMES Project by Cindy Ruskin (writer), Matt Herron (photographs) and Deborah Zemke (design).
The film relates the lives of six people memorialized with panels:
Along with these personal stories, the film reviews the history of the NAMES Project and shows the process of creating quilt panels. It also documents the response - or perceived lack of it - to the onset of the AIDS epidemic by the Reagan
administration through the use of archive footage of Reagan and members of his administration, the medical community's action in the face of the burgeoning health crisis, and the earliest attempts within the gay community to organize around the AIDS issue through the actions of such activists as self-proclaimed "KS
poster boy" Bobbi Campbell
and Gay Men's Health Crisis
and ACT UP
co-founder Larry Kramer
.
, a biography of openly gay
San Francisco politician Harvey Milk
. The film also won the Interfilm Award at the 1990 Berlin Film Festival, a GLAAD Media Award
for Best TV Documentary and a Peabody Award
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that tells the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt, is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes...
. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman with a musical score written and performed by Bobby McFerrin, the film focuses on several people who are represented by panels in the Quilt, combining personal reminiscences with archive footage of the subjects, along with footage of various politicians, health professionals and other people with AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Each section of the film is punctuated with statistics detailing the number of Americans diagnosed with and dead of AIDS through the early years of the epidemic. The film ends with the first display of the complete (to date) Quilt at the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
during the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 1987...
.
The film, made for HBO, was based in part on the book The Quilt: Stories From The NAMES Project by Cindy Ruskin (writer), Matt Herron (photographs) and Deborah Zemke (design).
The film relates the lives of six people memorialized with panels:
- Dr. Tom WaddellTom WaddellDr. Tom Waddell was the gay American sportsman who founded the international sporting event called the Gay Games, which was named such after the United States Olympic Committee sued Dr. Waddell for using the word "Olympic" in the original name "Gay Olympics". The Gay Games are held every four...
, founder of the Gay GamesGay GamesThe Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level...
; his story is told by his friend and the mother of his child, Sara Lewinstein. - David Mandell Jr., a young hemophiliac; his storytellers are his parents, David Mandell and Suzi Mandell.
- Robert Perryman, an African-American man who contracted the disease through intravenous drug use; his widow, Sallie Perryman, tells his story.
- Jeffrey Sevcik, a gay man; his story is told by his partner, film critic and historian Vito RussoVito RussoVito Russo was an American LGBT activist, film historian and author who is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet ....
. - David C. Campbell, a United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
veteran; his storyteller is his lover, Tracy Torrey, who then became his own storyteller as well as he succumbed to the disease and was memorialized in the course of filming.
Along with these personal stories, the film reviews the history of the NAMES Project and shows the process of creating quilt panels. It also documents the response - or perceived lack of it - to the onset of the AIDS epidemic by the Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
administration through the use of archive footage of Reagan and members of his administration, the medical community's action in the face of the burgeoning health crisis, and the earliest attempts within the gay community to organize around the AIDS issue through the actions of such activists as self-proclaimed "KS
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...
poster boy" Bobbi Campbell
Bobbi Campbell
Bobbi Campbell was an early United States AIDS activist. In September 1981, Campbell became the 16th person in San Francisco to be diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma. He was the first to come out publicly as a person living with the then unnamed disease...
and Gay Men's Health Crisis
Gay Men's Health Crisis
The Gay Men's Health Crisis is a New York City-based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization that has led the United States in the fight against AIDS.-1980s:...
and ACT UP
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people with AIDS and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and...
co-founder Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for Women in Love in 1969, earning...
.
Awards
Common Threads won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1990. This was the second Oscar for producer/director Rob Epstein. He had previously won for The Times of Harvey MilkThe Times of Harvey Milk
The Times of Harvey Milk is an American documentary film that premiered at The Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco...
, a biography of openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
San Francisco politician Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
. The film also won the Interfilm Award at the 1990 Berlin Film Festival, a GLAAD Media Award
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for Best TV Documentary and a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
.