SAN FRANCISCO – The documentary film AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman (not rated, 2021, 60 mins.) tells the story of Connie Norman, the self-appointed “AIDS Diva” and masterful spokesperson for ACT UP/Los Angeles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Norman described herself as an “ex-drag queen, ex-hooker, ex-IV drug user, ex-high-risk youth and current post-operative transsexual woman who is HIV-positive” and simply, “a human being seeking my humanity.”

The film follows Norman across geographic and cultural boundaries, from the counter-cultural dancefloor unity found at the Trocadero Transfer in San Francisco where Norman was once employed, to Los Angeles' unique blend of queer street politics, caregiving and spirituality, and beyond. The film features new interviews with her friends and colleagues, and newly discovered footage of Norman using her powerful voice at ACT UP/Los Angeles rallies and protests.

Seizing her power as she confronts her mortality, Connie Norman evolves as an unexpected, irrepressible, challenging and soulful figure in the history of AIDS activism and the transgender and queer rights movements.

After the film, stay for a panel discussion moderated by public historian Gerard Koskovich, and featuring Dante Alencastre, director; Ms. Billie Cooper, founder of TransLife at the SF AIDS Foundation; and Garza, recruiter at Bridge HIV.

WHEN: July 30, 2–4 p.m.

WHERE: San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, Koret Auditorium

INFORMATION: sfpl.org

COST: Free

To learn more, please visit sfpl.org and follow on Twitter @SFPublicLibrary and on Instagram @sfpubliclibrary.

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Jaime Wong  

Public Relations Officer | San Francisco Public Library

100 Larkin Street | San Francisco, CA | 94102

(415) 557-4295

Jaime.Wong@sfpl.org