Bill Bytsura, Phil Zwickler, 1991. From The AIDS Activist Project. Photo copyright and courtesy Bill Bytsura.
May 7, 1991: Filmmaker Phil Zwickler, David’s friend and collaborator, dies of AIDS-related illness, at age 36. Zwickler made the award-winning 1986 film Rights and Reactions: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial. He collaborated with Rosa von Praunheim on the films Silence = Death and Positive (featuring Zwickler’s personal struggle with AIDS). He also made Fear of Disclosure, a five-minute short with David Wojnarowicz examining the problems experienced by gay men who reveal their HIV status to potential sex partners.