Philadelphia Directed by Jonathan Demme. USA 1993. 125 min. (12) Starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington

For a decade after it was identified, victims of HIV faced early death, treated like pariahs while the virus ravaged the gay community. Philadelphia was the first major film to address the related issues of HIV, homophobia and discrimination and is widely credited with changing the national discourse. Tri-Star Pictures banked on celebrity director Demme, fresh from his Oscar win for The Silence of the Lambs, while casting the likeable, heterosexual Hanks as the “everyman” face of the disease. Gay activists would criticise the film for its restrained portrayal of the homosexual rela- tionship. But Demme and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner were targeting a different audience: “We wanted to reach people who don’t know people with AIDS, who look down on people with AIDS.” The director, whose wife’s best friend was dying of HIV as he filmed, was actively engaged in the cause that Philadelphia so artfully promoted. He interceded on behalf of HIV+ actor Ron Vawter after he was rejected by the film’s insurance company and pointedly casted 52 more sufferers in smaller roles, giving them a rare opportunity to work. Just over a year later, the New York Times reported that 43 had died. 27 years on, scenes that seemed preposterous at the time will pass unremarked; others that were intended to facilitate will now alienate. What has not changed: “In a pitch, I will still have to justify why a character is gay,” says Nyswaner. “I don’t mean people are opposed to it. But if I were to say, ‘Hey, I have this great police show, and it’s about this guy who uncovers corruption, oh, and he’s gay,’ I will be asked, ‘Why are you making him gay?’” Oscar awards: Best Actor Tom Hanks; Best Original Song Bruce Springsteen “Streets of Philadelphia.” Oscar nomination: Best Original Screenplay Ron Nyswaner ______

Do join us from 11:20 pm on Tuesday 2 June for a post-film discussion: - on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WimbledonFilmClub/ (write & read comments under the new post pinned at the top of the page) - on our Google Group Forum at https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!forum/wimbledon-film-club (please email in advance if you are not yet a member of the google forum and would like to join) or email your comments to: [email protected]