Positive Launches on World Aids Day

Positive Launches on World Aids Day
3 December 2021
Arrow Pictures' new series launches to critical acclaim

Positive, the Arrow Pictures series, which explores Britain’s 40 year battle with HIV, told by those who lived it, launched on World Aids Day following screenings in both London and Manchester.

Ahead of the series premiere on Sky Documentaries, two events took place to celebrate its launch. The screenings at the Manchester Everyman Cinema and London's Ham Yard Hotel, were attended by a whole host of people affected by and involved in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic including LGBTQ+ communities, charity partners, celebrities, members of the media and public affairs' officials.

The first episode, of the three-part series, was screened with introductions from Co-Founder and Creative Director of Arrow Pictures, John Smithson and Poppy Dixon, Director, Documentaries and Factual, Sky.

Following the screening a panel made up of LGBTQ+ and sexual health rights campaigners, HIV survivors, politicians and international Development consultants - all of whom are contributors to the series - participated in a Q&A hosted by Queer influencer and presenter Riyadh Khalaf.

London Screening

The series, which includes testimonies from some of the earliest HIV patients and real-life heroes, has received glowing reviews, The Times describing it as "an excellent documentary — zippy and moving at the same time" with The I noting the series as containing "a sense of the energy of activism" and capturing "the horror of receiving a diagnosis". The Guardian meanwhile commented how "archive footage vividly recreates the atmosphere within a London gay scene that had really only just got going when a shadow loomed over it".

All three episodes of Positive are available on-demand now on Sky Documentaries and NOW TV. See the trailer here.