Letters from Home (film)
| Letters from Home | |
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| Directed by | Mike Hoolboom |
| Produced by | Mike Hoolboom |
| Written by |
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| Screenplay by | Mike Hoolboom |
| Music by | Earle Peach |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Mike Hoolboom |
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Release date
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Running time
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15 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Letters from Home is a 15-minute-long short film by Canadian director Mike Hoolboom. It follows a multitude of figures from the Toronto art community who deliver messages about living with AIDS, which are spliced with home videos, found and archive footage, and other film techniques. Letters from Home was generally well received and won several awards, including Best Canadian Short Film at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival.
After an initial voiceover following a dream in which the narrator chases a Cadbury chocolate bar until he sees a masked doctor who tells him he has AIDS, a woman tells of her friend who, when using a half-fare card, was told that she could not possibly be AIDS positive as she would have to be home dying. Director Mike Hoolboom's face fades in from a watery background, speaking of how he is not dying and the government is not working to save him.
Several actors and actresses deliver thoughts, first regarding maltreatment of AIDS patients by the general public, then comparing living with AIDS to fighting World War II and describing the treatment. The film then notes the work that is being done, interspersed with footage of two men kissing, but indicates that there is not enough support. It closes with Callum Keith Rennie relating how love can overcome the fear felt by AIDS victims.
The film's narration was primarily based on the speech "Why We Fight" by the LGBT rights activist Vito Russo, which was delivered at a protest in 1988 which Hoolboom attended. It features bits written by Hoolboom itself. The majority of actors and actresses are from Toronto, where Hoolboom had established himself; they came from a variety of racial, generational, and gender backgrounds. At the time of release, combined antiretroviral therapy was unavailable.
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