Iterations of Love: Tender Films on HIV

Date: Monday, December 1st, 2025

Time: 4-5 PM. 

In celebration of World Aids Day, Mana Contemporary, in collaboration with the Monira Foundation and Hudson Pride Center, is eager to showcase the work of two talented artists: Eric Rhein and Umbreen Butt. 

Eric Rhein’s film The Mountain is a narrated memoir of his 1991 climb up a mountain, both physical and metaphorical, the ascent as well as the challenge of truth-telling in the midst of the AIDS crisis.

And Umbreen Butt, whose documentary series, Blind Angels, profiles queer HIV activists in the American South fighting for health justice and joy in their communities–working at the forefront of HIV prevention, treatment, and care with little public acknowledgement or support.

By weaving together the history of someone who lived through the height of the AIDS crisis with the ongoing realities of impacted communities, these films honor the lives and struggles of the past while shedding light on how the epidemic persists in overlooked regions, demanding attention, empathy, and action.

NY Aids Memorial

The New York City AIDS Memorial honors the more than 100,000 New Yorkers who have died of AIDS and acknowledges the contributions of caregivers and activists who mobilized to provide care for the ill, fight discrimination, lobby for medical research, and alter the drug approval process. The Memorial aims to inspire visitors to remember and reflect as well as empower current and future activists, health professionals, and people living with HIV in the continuing mission to eradicate the disease through the maintenance of our permanent, architecturally significant Memorial as well as through educational and cultural programming.

Learn more about Umbreen Butt’s work here: umbreenbutt.work/documentary-series/blindangels

Learn More about Eric Rhein’s work here: ericrhein.com