Beat Goes On

Beat Goes On is an impressionistic portrait of the activist Keith Cylar (1958–2004), co-founder of Housing Works and a central figure in the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP) NY. Cylar spoke clearly, frequently and with moral force about the struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City, many of whom were impoverished and struggling with multiple social and medical problems. His openness about his own drug use and the centrality of the fight against the criminalization of drugs for AIDS activism make Cylar's legacy especially resonant and relevant at this time. Commissioned by Visual AIDS in 2019 as part of STILL BEGINNING, a program of seven short videos responding to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Documentary

Beat Goes On

Similar Films

  • Dark Days
  • Mad Hot Ballroom
  • The Stroll
  • Green Guérilla
  • HIV=AIDS: Fact or Fraud?
  • Wealth of a Nation
  • Big Pink Dress
  • Kristina Talking Pictures
  • American Animals
  • Paris Is Burning
  • Banksy Does New York
  • Those People: AIDS in the Public Mind
  • P.S. Burn This Letter Please
  • Un jour ça ira
  • Tom Parker: Inside My Head
  • Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos
  • This is an Address
  • I'm Your Venus
  • 102 Minutes That Changed America

NextFilm 2026