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Notes From Hollywood
by Nicholas Snow

Scene 1 – The Other Side of AIDS?
Just when you thought it was safe to go to the pharmacy, filmmaker Robin Scovill is championing the cry of many doctors, journalists and HIV positive people who are taking on the “political correctness, conflicts of interest and unresolved errors surrounding AIDS.” 
Scovill’s The Other Side of AIDS offers “an unflinching personal look into an issue the mainstream media doesn’t dare touch: the multi billion-dollar failure of the war on AIDS.” Los Angeles-area filmgoers can catch the film in early November where it is screening as part of the International Documentary Competition at AFI Fest, the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival. (More on the AFI Fest)
Scovill isn’t simply an observer of the AIDS epidemic. He is married to Christine Maggiore who was diagnosed HIV positive in 1992. According to my sources, Maggiore was diagnosed HIV positive in 1992. After becoming a public speaker and AIDS educator, she questioned AIDS authorities, engaged in exhaustive research and refused AIDS drugs. She has lived in health for over a decade, marrying and having two healthy children with the film’s director. Maggiore is the founder of Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives and the author of What if everything you thought you knew about AIDS was wrong?

What exactly does this film explore? Let the synopsis speak for itself:

After 20 years and more than $150 billion in federally funded research, scientists still can’t explain how HIV causes AIDS. Millions of people have been declared HIV-positive with tests that can’t find the actual virus. The latest AIDS medications are taking more lives than AIDS itself. One expert proposes that the cause and cure for AIDS is as near at hand as our willingness to examine new ideas. Yet according to a prominent AIDS researcher, anyone questioning HIV is a perpetrator of death and should be jailed. Should AIDS advocates have the power to silence scientific debate? Has saving face become more important than saving lives? Watch The Other Side of AIDS and decide for yourself.

You might expect the “experts” who participated in this documentary to be vegetarian spiritualists who meditate and drink herbal tea all the time (nothing wrong with any of these things), but the mainstream voices in the film will surprise you, including that of Charles Farthing. Farthing serves as the Medical Director of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world’s largest and fastest growing AIDS treatment advocacy organization. AHF’s Treatment = Life campaign is used worldwide, and Dr. Farthing maintains a practice in infectious disease at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

In a recent interview, Scovill was asked if he ever found himself giving into the impulse to impose a persona perspective and propagandize a bit. 

“I’m married to a healthy HIV positive woman who lives a normal life and doesn’t take any AIDS drugs,” explained Scovill. “We’ve conceived two healthy children together which seems to go against conventional rules, so naturally I have a personal perspective on this issue. Despite our experiences, I don’t believe I impose anything in the film, but rather present a side of AIDS to which most people have never been exposed. The objective is to shed light on many biased aspects of mainstream AIDS information. My film is not instructional; it allows people to make up their own minds on the issues,” he concluded.

Is the soundtrack filled with Louise Hay-style affirmation songs (nothing wrong with those)? Nope. The soundtrack is performed by the Foo Fighters, who Scovill has worked with on other projects. In fact, Scovill’s wife, Christine Maggiore, has addressed crowds at Foo Fighter concerts regarding AIDS and related issues. For more information, check out the film's official web site.

© 365Gay.com Ltd 2004

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