During the spring of 2006 Alicia Keys embarked on a journey to Africa that changed her life forever. During her month-long trip, Alicia witness countless stories of people infected with HIV, who despite the odds, were overcoming personal hardships with astonishing bravery. Some of the communities that Alicia visited on her pilgrimage had an HIV prevalence rate of over 40%, but what she encountered were incredible accounts of resilience and triumph. Join Alicia on her journey and hear the compelling stories from those she encountered during her visit, making her even more galvanized in her commitment to publicly addressing the need for lifesaving drugs and ongoing care for these inspiring people.

Yale-educated and born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Sam Wagstaff’s transformation from innovative museum curator to Robert Mapplethorpe’s lover and patron is intensively probed in BLACK WHITE AND GRAY. During the heady years of the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City art scene was abuzz with a new spirit, and Mapplethorpe would be at the center of it. Wagstaff pulled him from his suburban Queens existence, gave him a camera and brought him into this art world that seemed to be waiting for him, creating the man whose infamous images instilled emotions ranging from awe to anger. In turn, Mapplethorpe brought the formerly starched-shirt preppie to the world of drugs and gay S-and-M sex, well-documented in his still-startling photographs. Twenty five years separated the lovers, but their relationship was symbiotic to its core, and the two remained together forever. The film also explores the relationship both men had with musician/poet Patti Smith, whose 1975 debut album “Horses” catapulted her to fame.

In INDIA’S HIDDEN PLAGUE, Hollywood superstar Ashley Judd is on a mission. Far from her glamorous life in Hollywood, she is on a journey to Mumbai, India in her role as Global Ambassador for Youth AIDS and Population Services International (PSI) Board Member.

Mumbai is a city of shocking contrasts, where extreme poverty sits next to huge wealth, the poor next to millionaires. It’s a place where HIV is rife.

Ashley’s mission becomes a rollercoaster of emotions as she meets the people for whom AIDS is a frightening reality. As they tell their stories candidly and openly, Ashley hopes to take their voices and experiences back to a world that might take notice. She meets people such as Kausar, a gritty single mother of two, now helping others that have been affected; Geeta, who was kidnapped and sold into the sex trade and many others. All of them are trying to cope everyday with this deadly virus. Through this emotionally overwhelming story, Ashley tries to come to terms with the fragile way of life and the dire consequences resulting from the instability that the forgotten people of India face daily.

Lead by her heart and guided by the voices of those she meets along the way, Ashley takes her experiences to influential thinkers and policy makers to raise awareness and funds for PSI’s HIV programs throughout India. In her mission, Ashley recruits the help of fellow Bollywood stars like Shahrukh Khan, Sushmita Sen and Akshay Kumar, all of whom want to play their part in this war against AIDS.

OUT OF CONTROL was the first national network television documentary to examine how and why AIDS has become overwhelmingly a Black epidemic--not in Africa or the Third World, but right here in the United States.

Blacks make up 13% of the total US population, but over 50% of all new cases of HIV infection. That infection rate is eight times the rate of whites. Among women, the statistics are even more shocking: 70% of all new HIV infections are Black women, and a black woman is 23 times more likely than her white counterpart to be diagnosed with AIDS. AIDS is the leading cause of death for Black women ages 25-49, and has been for the last 11 years.

In interviews with AIDS activists, doctors, public health officials, and Black leaders, OUT OF CONTROL revealed, for the first time, the political and social reasons AIDS spiraled into a crisis in Black communities across the country.

Among these was a lack of any consistent or ongoing effort to specifically address the Black epidemic by the Reagan, Clinton, and Bush administrations. And perhaps most importantly, the documentary examined a failure of mobilization and leadership in the Black community itself.

In examining these controversial and difficult topics, OUT OF CONTROL included the last original reporting by Peter Jennings, just before his cancer diagnosis. Jennings, who played an important role in conceptualizing the program, interviewed a group of African American HIV-positive men in Atlanta who spoke with remarkable candor about the harsh realities of dealing with AIDS in Black America.

Until this broadcast, no major African-American leader or organization had taken on AIDS in Black America as a fighting cause. While many American Black leaders and celebrities had very visibly embraced the cause of AIDS in Africa, few devoted similar energy to the epidemic here at home. Interviews with Jesse Jackson and other Black leaders, especially in the Black Church, revealed the extent to which the AIDS crisis had been ignored.

In one notable instance, Bishop T.D. Jakes, one of America’s most prominent African-American pastors, was interviewed about his own lack of leadership in the epidemic. After the broadcast, Jakes announced a new comprehensive national HIV/AIDS awareness program called “It’s Time to Step Up,” directed at faith communities, minorities, and women.

OUT OF CONTROL: AIDS IN BLACK AMERICA brought to national attention not only the shocking disparities in the epidemic in the US, but also confronted how we as a nation approach a major public health crisis that is centered primarily in a minority community. A preventable, treatable disease is killing thousands of Black Americans each year. But until this program, no one was paying attention.

THE LEGEND OF LEIGH BOWERY explores a life lived as if it was a performance. Leigh Bowery was a costume/clothing designer, nightclub impresario, performer, and musician whose vision influenced many of today’s most important artists. He later became known to the world at large as the muse and subject of preeminent British painter Lucian Freud.

Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of 1980’s most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences. He was a performer with a “look” so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he instead became one of the first prominent artists to die of AIDS. The reaction Klaus Nomi provoked was so strong, that he is still unforgettable, even 20 years after his death.

The Nomi Song is Andrew Horn’s award-winning look at the life of German-born singer Klaus Nomi. One of the most profoundly bizarre characters of the late 70s/early 80s New Wave underground scene, Klaus Nomi was a genuine counter-tenor who sang pop music like opera to enthusiastic club audiences. Through archival performance footage and interviews with his friends and fellow artists, Nomi’s influence and unique style are brought to life twenty-two years after his death from AIDS.

Part documentary, part music film and part sci-fi, The Nomi Song is a story of love of music and love of performing at a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something - anything. A time of no limits. Klaus Nomi was on the verge of international fame as a singer when he tragically became one of the first gay artists to die of AIDS (then referred to as the “gay cancer”). He was as much a genuine talent as he was the engine of his own destruction. He was an alien amongst the outcasts and an obviously tortured soul who, at the same time, radiated optimism when optimism was “officially” out of fashion. The Nomi Song is a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him; people who felt used, cheated yet, overall, inspired. Featuring Ann Magnuson, Gabriele Lafari, David MacDermot, Page Wood, Tony Frere, Man Parrish, Kristian Hoffman, Ron Johnsen, Kenny Scharf, Anthony Scibelli, Alan Platt with a special appearance by David Bowie.

The Nomi Song features the music of Wire, The Marbles, The Bongos, Pylon, The Mumps, Chi Pig, and, of course, David Bowie. This DVD also includes Klaus Nomi performances, many never before seen since originally performed by Klaus including a full performance of “The Cold Song” with full orchestra - Klaus’s ultimate performance.

Are African American males becoming extinct? Will future generations of African American women not be able to find husbands? These are but a few of the questions explored in this 1 hour 16 minute documentary. Written/directed/produced by Hisani DuBose, it features Melvin Jackson, Jr. (whose acting credits include HBO’s “The Wire” and UPN’s “Everybody Hates Chris") who interviews doctors, politicians, college students, teachers, law enforcement personnel, a screenwriter and others. Music, artwork and a series of monologues woven throughout the movie should captivate viewers. Oscar nominated editor, Alfred Santana, helps the visuals flow smoothly. Named Best Documentary and Best Director by Kam Williams.

A 20-minute excerpt of We Are Together, which tells the remarkable and moving story of a group of children who use music to overcome hardship and loss. Filmed over a period of three years, it is the story of an orphanage unlike one you’ve ever seen, where the young singers of the Agape Choir lift their voices to create the home and family they so very much need.

Life has not been easy for 12-year-old Slindile and her siblings living at the Agape Orphanage in South Africa, where most of the children have lost their parents to AIDS. These toddlers and teenagers squabble and stumble just like any other youths, discovering themselves and craving stability. Having already borne great hardships, Slindile along with her sisters and baby brother must endure the fact that their elder brother Sifiso has been diagnosed with the HIV virus and is slowly wasting away due to lack of medical care that is available to him. And yet, when they lift their voices in song, something extraordinary happens – they overcome their fears, band together as a family, and find opportunities to better their lives forever.

With unforgettable kids, soaring music, and a plot full of surprises, We Are Together arrives as a stirring and uplifting experience that will stay with you!

WE WILL NOT DIE LIKE DOGS profiles AIDS activists from Nigeria, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Zambia. Honest and provocative testimonies of individuals living with the epidemic include two HIV-positive women fighting stigma and discrimination, a doctor working to care for HIV-infected children in rural villages, and a reggae artist using his status among youth and the media to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS.  Conceived of by two African medical students at Yale who were tired of African portrayed only as victims to the epidemic and directed by international health specialist, Lisa Russell, WE WILL NOT DIE LIKE DOGS helped launch the National Black Programming Consortium’s new television series AfroPop that focuses on contemporary pop culture in Africa.