Movies Similar to Rock the Boat

Sex Positive(2009)

Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M hustler turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited. Mr. Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic demanding a solution to the problem before the outside world would take heed. Now destitute and alone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his story to a world who never wanted to listen.

I Hugged the Berlin Patient(2013)

A spirited cancer survivor goes on a spontaneous search for 'The Berlin Patient' - the first man in the world actually cured of HIV.

The Gift(2003)

Controversial documentary about gay men purposely contracting the AIDS virus.

Pigerne på Halmtorvet(1992)

Dead Gay Men and Living Lesbians(2008)

As a result of the Holocaust and later, AIDS, the male homosexual community has sustained bitter losses and, according to Praunheim, lesbian women have now placed themselves at the head of the so-called queer movement. The female protagonists in the film represent two different generations; they also incorporate the past and present status of homosexuals in society.

Frontline: The Age of AIDS(2006)

After a quarter-century of political denial and social stigma, of stunning scientific breakthroughs, bitter policy battles and inadequate prevention campaigns, HIV/AIDS continues to spread rapidly throughout much of the world. Through interviews with AIDS researchers, world leaders, activists, and patients, FRONTLINE investigates the science, politics, and human cost of this fateful disease and asks: What are the lessons of the past, and what can be done to stop AIDS?

Letter Beyond the Walls(2019)

Letter Beyond the Walls reconstructs the trajectory of HIV and AIDS with a focus on Brazil, through interviews with doctors, activists, patients and other actors, in addition to extensive archival material. From the initial panic to awareness campaigns, passing through the stigma imposed on people living with HIV, the documentary shows how society faced this epidemic in its deadliest phase over more than two decades. With this historical approach as its base, the film looks at the way HIV is viewed in today's society, revealing a picture of persistent misinformation and prejudice, which especially affects Brazil’s most historically vulnerable populations.

Bright Eyes(1984)

One of the earliest documentaries to deal with AIDS.

Doctors, Liars, and Women: AIDS Activists Say No to Cosmo(1988)

Outraged by the controversial January, 1988 article in Cosmopolitan magazine, the women in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, (Act Up, New York), organized the first AIDS demonstration focused on women. Doctors, Liars and Women:AIDS Activists Say No To Cosmo not only documents the efforts of the Women's Committee to organize this protest, it also serves as a how-to-guide for direct action.

DiAna's Hair Ego: AIDS Info Up Front(1990)

A documentary film about AIDS and one unconventional woman's efforts to educate her small, Southern community. DiAna DiAna is a local hairdresser who transformed her beauty parlor into a center for AIDS and safe sex information.

(In)Visible Women(1991)

Women who are HIV-positive discuss how they "came out" about their infection and became politically active.

Stiff Sheets(1989)

Stiff Sheets indicts public health officials and politicians for the lack of adequate and humane care for people with AIDS in Los Angeles, this time documenting a mock fashion show staged by ACT UP activists.

Fight Back, Fight AIDS: 15 Years of ACT UP(2002)

A look at the ACT UP movement from its inception to the present day.

No Regret(1993)

Five gay Black men who are HIV-positive discuss how they are battling the double stigmas surrounding their infection and homosexuality.

Cursed Be Your Name, Liberty(1994)

Extremely rare Cuban documentary reveals rockers that find liberty by injecting themselves with the HIV virus, at a time when this was almost synonymous with a death sentence.

The Salt Mines(1990)

Explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latino transvestites who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through prostitution. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow. The three friends share the place known as "The Salt Mines".

The Transformation(1996)

Ricardo was once Sara, a homeless HIV positive transvestite, living in the underbelly of Manhattan. Today he is a churchgoing, married man, "saved" by a Dallas ministry. He has renounced his homosexuality, but is his conversion complete? Susana Aiken and Carlos Aparicio offer an intimate look at Ricardo's transformation.

Doctors with Heart(1993)

Tahani Rached’s powerful documentary enters the doors of an AIDS clinic in Montreal. We meet a group of dedicated doctors struggling to provide health care to their patients. This 1994 film explores legal and ethical problems surrounding HIV/AIDS and the struggle against fear, rumours and prejudice. It is still relevant today.

How to Survive a Plague(2012)

A story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.

Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You(1992)

Join stars Paula Abdul, Luke Perry, Sinbad, Pauly Shore, Jaleel White and many, many more as they take an entertaining, music-filled and honest look at HIV and AIDS. You'll get all the latest facts, important dos and don'ts, and you'll meet some wonderful people. Co-hosts Arsenio Hall and Earvin "Magic" Johnson even hit the court for a little one-on-one, and then take "time out" for an informative heart-to-heart! For people who already know about HIV and AIDS, and for those who don't, TIME OUT is a video you can't afford to miss.