On World AIDS Day, December 1, we remember those we’ve lost, in the community and personally, to AIDS. This World AIDS Day, the New Haven Pride Center hosted the premiere, on line, of a new 25-minute film, “I Still Remember,” about love, life, and loss, emotional and often disturbing, written and directed by Vladimir Rios, with screenplay and photography direction by Lester Blum, as a follow-up to Blum’s book of photos of the same name.
Set in the Village, Chelsea, and Cherry Grove, the Meat Rack and the Meatpacking District, “I Still Remember” tells of Scott (Scott Reynolds) and Andres (Rios), their idyll interrupted when Andres contracts HIV. Andres’ hustling and drug use are treated frankly, as is the chilling dismissal, in life and in death, by his religious mother. Blum and Andrew Pacho are among those who put in appearances.
As Tennessee Williams called “The Glass Menagerie” a memory play, so might one describe “I Still Remember” as a memory film. Very much the bereaved partner, lonely and moody, Scott is haunted by memories of the departed Andres in the woods, at the beach, at the Ice Palace, Grove Hotel, and Rainbow Dreams, on the Grove dock, on downtown Manhattan streets, and in a back room, all vividly captured in the film. Despite the loss of Andres and the decimation of their circle of friends, Scott also cherishes tender memories and we know he’s a survivor.