Sex Positive

Sex Positive tells the story of Richard Berkowitz, a gay S&M sex worker in 1980s New York who became an AIDS activist as the epidemic tore through his community. Working with physician Joseph Sonnabend and singer Michael Callen, Berkowitz helped write one of the earliest guides to safer sex, making the case that gay men could protect themselves without giving up their sexuality. It was a controversial position at the time, and his role in shaping safe-sex practices has rarely received the recognition it deserves. Directed by Daryl Wein, the 76-minute documentary combines Berkowitz's own frank recollections with interviews from figures who lived through the era, including Larry Kramer. It is a candid portrait of a complicated, unconventional man and an important chapter in the history of the AIDS crisis.