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The Bressan Project

A pioneer of independent gay cinema in the 1970s and ‘80s, Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. is best known for his devastating 1985 drama, Buddies (the first feature film about AIDS). Working across multiple genres including documentary, narrative, adult and short form filmmaking, Bressan’s boldness and artistry as a writer-director earned him both acclaim and controversy over the course of his decade-long filmmaking career. Bressan’s adult films include Passing Strangers, a lyrical hardcore coming out drama which earned him the Best Director Prize at the 1974 San Francisco Erotic Film Festival and Forbidden Letters, which featured acclaimed performances from young Robert Adams and legendary daddy Richard Locke. Bressan died of AIDS in 1987. The majority of his films have long been unavailable. The Bressan Project is currently undertaking efforts to preserve and make them available once again.