At the height of the AIDS crisis in the US, thousands of people were dying from the ravages of the disease, and also in sheer poverty … (AZT was the most expensive drug in the world!). Little could have been done to stop their terminal diagnoses, but there was a way to alleviate their financial crisis by selling their life insurance to investors for quick cash. It was a controversial scheme that raised questions about the morality of offering much-needed help, and which ended up being a billion-dollar AIDS profiteering” industry.

It is now the subject of an excellent thought-provoking documentary from queer filmmaker, MATT NADEL, whose own father was one of the industry’s early investors:.. Nadel’s carefully considered approach is a sharp reminder to all of us who lived through this period, watching our loved ones fighting for survival with a level of dignity. 

Cashing Out is an essential record of the worst period in queer history and one that needs to be shared with younger generations and never ever forgotten. It is also the perfect point to start a dialogue and address some of the inequities of the health industry, like the construction and cost of health and life insurance, and how it particularly affects our community. Especially as it is currently led by a fanatical maniac!

P.S Since Nadel completed this film last year, the Administration has changed (!) and, in the last few months, they have drastically cut global funding for HIV and AIDS patients. The pandemic is by no means over