Peccadillo Pictures have announced the digitally restored version of Arthur J. Bressan‘s trailblazing film BUDDIES, the first full length drama about AIDS, will have a limited theatrical release on December 6 followed by a DVD, Blu-ray and On Demand release for the very first time.
Initially released in cinemas in 1985, BUDDIES is a moving and timeless portrayal of an entire era in gay history. The film focuses on 25 year-old gay yuppie David (David Schachter) who volunteers to be a ‘buddy’ to an AIDS patient. The gay community centre assigns him to Robert (Geoff Edholm), a 32 year-old politically impassioned California gardener abandoned by his friends and lovers. Revolving around the confines of Robert’s Manhattan hospital room, Bressan skillfully unfolds this two-hander with devastating effect. Tragically both Arthur J. Bressan and Geoff Edholm went on to die from complications of AIDS.
“BUDDIES is the story of two gay people who happen to be human beings. This is not the pretty part of gay life. We had a parade of parade films and coming-out films, and I made a lot of those movies. But when something like AIDS comes up, It is important for our artists to deal with what is going on. How many dead friends does it take for you to get angry or sad? The AIDS crisis has shown that gay people have a strong underside that can deal with the ultimate issues in life, which is death, strongly, powerfully, heroically, courageously, ethically, morally, amazingly. BUDDIES is not just about AIDS, it’s about what happens when a person, a lone individual has to face not only death, but the fear and ignorance of all of us … society” – Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.
“In the hands of Bressan, an extraordinarily talented filmmaker whose best film this is, BUDDIES brings to the surface the feelings and emotions that have become a part of the lives of thousands of AIDS patients and people who love them” Vito Russo -THE ADVOCATE
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