Vasilios Papapitsio, LUCID NIGHTMARE, 2024



Papapitsios describes LUCID NIGHTMARE as a “meditation on how we can(not) heal in the environments that make us sick, from the perspective of an infected neurodivergent faggot.” Combining auto-fiction with magical realism, Papapitsios reimagines narratives around mental health and chronic illness.

Commissioned in 2024 as part of Red Reminds Me..., a program of seven videos reflecting the emotional spectrum of living with HIV today.

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About the artist
Vasilios Papapitsios (they/he) is an LA-based writer, filmmaker and artist originally from the South whose work transmutes stigma and trauma with a flare for the fantastical. Vasilios has contributed to projects for MasterClass, AwesomenessTV, and Emmy-nominated intersectional media platform OTV - Open Television. They were recognized as a Notable Writer in the 2021 OUTFEST screenwriting lab and as an artivist storyteller in residence with UCLA’s Through Positive Eyes. Vasilios creates very strange, frank, and whimsical worlds for us to wander off in, blending genres and blurring boundaries within advocacy, education, and entertainment.

Visual AIDS utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over. Learn more ︎︎︎