Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the processes of making archives, of creating memories, of testimony and the witnessing of history, and of constructing history from the archival material. It examines the Face of AIDS film archive as a net of testimonies of different perspectives and narratives that can convey new insights about HIV and AIDS beyond established facts and mainstream narratives. The book provides the footage in the archive pertaining to people with hemophilia and compares it with existing historical studies of hemophilia and AIDS. It explores how stigma and trauma are negotiated in the material in the Face of AIDS film archive. The book focuses on "Constructions of Safe Sex: Between Desire and Governmentality". It concludes with "A Disease on Top of a Disease: People with Hemophilia through the Face of AIDS Film Archive".