Of the many creative and cultural universes inhabited by Sonbert, none was perhaps more acutely experienced yet least publicly acknowledged than his homosexual identity and affliction with AIDS. This program examines his relationship to the gay universe.
Amphetamine. 1966. USA. Directed by Warren Sonbert and Wendy Appel. 10 min. 16mm.
In his provocative and playful first film, Sonbert depicts young men shooting amphetamines and making love in the era of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Noblesse Oblige. 1981. USA. Directed by Warren Sonbert. 25 min. 16mm.
A masterfully edited work featuring imagery Sonbert filmed of protests in San Francisco following the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Councilman Harvey Milk at the hands of Dan White. Sonbert modeled the structure of this film on Douglas Sirk’s Tarnished Angels (1957).
Short Fuse. 1992. USA. Directed by Warren Sonbert. 37 min. 16mm.
Following his AIDS diagnosis, the film is a turbulent expression of his heightened emotional state, collaging images of war, protest and rest with shifting musical passages from both classical and popular music.
Whiplash. 1995/1997. USA. Directed by Warren Sonbert. 20 min. 16mm.
Preceding his death from AIDS, Sonbert channeled all of his energy into making his final work Whiplash, completed posthumously by filmmaker Jeff Scher. A multilayered portrayal of Sonbert’s struggle to maintain his physical equilibrium, his perceptual reality, and the world of friends and family around him, the film articulates the ideas and values for which he intended to be remembered.
Warren. 1991. USA Directed by Jeff Scher. 3 min. 16mm.
In Warren, Scher turns the table on his former teacher and mentor, creating an intimate dialogue between friends as well as a battle of directorial wills, at a moment when Scher recognized that Sonbert was becoming ill.