Unveiling a Hero: God Isn’t Ready for Me Yet Highlights the Life and Legacy of AIDS Activist Steve Pieters
By Christopher Carson - May 15, 2024
“No. God didn’t give us this disease. He is with us in fighting this disease.”
Emotive, uplifting, and visually captivating, God Isn’t Ready for Me Yet is a documentary feature film exploring the life and legacy of AIDS activist and father figure of the gay community, Steve Pieters, as he reaches the end of his life. The film turns personal tragedies, triumphs and American political history into a deeply personal story celebrating the cultural force and social legacy of the gay community.
Reverend Steve Pieters (1952-2023) first gained fame after being the focus of a 1985 interview with televangelist Tammy-Faye Bakker. The sit-down interview made headlines for being one of the first national TV interviews to highlight an HIV-positive gay man in the United States. Jay Bakker, author and son of Tammy-Faye and Jim Bakker, hopes that people see that “Steve was so much more than that moment, he was a survivor to the fullest extent of the [word].” Pieters was first diagnosed with AIDS in the early 80s – a time when the illness was considerably more stigmatized. Being a man living with AIDS in the 1980s, Steve Pieters was no stranger to adversity. He was “a man who understood the depths of grief, suffering and unimaginable alienation, said Jay Bakker. And yet, he continues, “he always had room to love…To him, everyone was worthy of forgiveness and love.” Throughout his frequent battles with health, Steve Pieters traveled the world and ministered to
people living with AIDS, spreading happiness everywhere he went. In 2022 he was diagnosed with stage-four leukemia; unlike previous bouts with cancer this time the illness was terminal. Steve Pieters passed away on July 8, 2023.
God Isn’t Ready for Me Yet is a deeply personal, yet universal, story that uses the details of Steve’s own life as a vehicle for showcasing the cultural history of the gay rights movement. The documentary will feature interviews with Steve Pieters himself that were recorded shortly before he passed away. In the videos he speaks candidly about his religious journey and the endless battles he faced and won throughout the course of his life. During the interviews Director Helen Rollins became friends with Steve. Describing the significance of that relationship, Rollins says, “Becoming friends with Steve opened our eyes to the history of AIDS and its relationship to the gay community.” For her, and certainly others, these stories are “a powerful expression of the incredible generation [Steve Pieters] was a part of.” In a way the documentary serves as a “last testimony” of the AIDS generation, especially of those who were among the first individuals diagnosed during the early years of the crisis.
To complete the film the production company, The Magician’s Niece, is seeking additional funding through their Kickstarter campaign. If they receive the minimum amount needed to finish the project, they will be able to turn the trailer into a 25-30 minute film. If they raise more than what is needed, the additional resources will help expand the documentary.
Contact:
Ross Murray
Vice President, GLAAD Media Institute
GLAAD
Pronouns: He/Him/His
(646) 871-8040 ext: 640 | rmurray@glaad.org
www.glaad.org | www.facebook.com/glaad | www.twitter.com/glaad
Source: https://glaad.org/unveiling-a-hero-god-isnt-ready-for-me-yet-highlights-the-life-and-legacy-of-aids-activist-steve-pieters/
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