Desert Migration

Meet the Lazarus Men—the gay men who survived the Dark Ages of the AIDS epidemic into the New Era of protease inhibitors and life-extending cocktails. These are the men who never expected to see old or even middle age; men now facing the challenge of not just aging, but aging with HIV. While many seem to have tucked the issue of AIDS away, it is very much present for the Lazarus Men. Once again they find themselves pioneers in a frontier as uncertain as the early days of AIDS. In the desert town of Palm Springs, California, a community has formed. It is made of survivors who lost much (or everything), were ostracized by families and communities, or just fled into the desert to die. Drawn by the desert's affordability, beauty, and isolation, they formed an oasis of acceptance. It is a place to both heal and to rage against the gods. Everybody who comes to this desert brings a story. You are about to experience theirs. (Cleveland International Film Festival)