Film is the most powerful tool of global influence and can be both a hindrance or agent for positive change.

Welcome to the Southern Time Productions’ official streaming platform – a place that merges the art of storytelling with advocacy and awareness. Today’s audiences have limitless digital platforms, so what stands us apart?

We don’t underestimate our consumers. People are more informed and socially conscientious than ever before, which means that the content they consume should be reflective of their aroused sensibilities. It should also seek to heighten their knowledge on various issues pertinent to the human condition.

We appeal to the global citizen. Do you watch television shows where you can spot the token “diverse” character? That’s because too many creators are seeking to appeasing their audiences through tokenism. We feature characters that come from a myriad of backgrounds – not only racially, but in all the ways that represent the miscellany of our inhabitants.

We emphasize artistry to the core. Whether it’s music, filmmaking, photography, or writing, our platform aims to be the medium for the artistic messenger. Our content will only feature the masterful works of global artists who can use their talents to the art of conveying life across the screen.

We take it back to strong storytelling. Humans first came together around the campfire, telling stories of past and present occurrences. Storytelling is intrinsic to who we are and is the most powerful tool for unification and human advancement. We wish to honour the roots of telling good stories by focusing on content that is strong, meaningful and evocative. Respecting the writer is crucial in an industry that is marked by commercialization. We lack respect for our writers who, if nurtured and respected, can be the most powerful agents of change.

Timothy Bartsch was only 21 when he received the life-threatening, novel diagnosis of being HIV positive. In the 80s and early 90s, HIV and AIDS were considered a death sentence, and its prognosis was marred with misconceptions that fueled bigotry and discrimination toward gay men. The notion of the “gay man’s disease” was reflective of poor treatments available to patients at the time. In the blink of an eye, Tim’s life was forever changed; he went from aspiring cellist to a young man no longer in charge of his destiny.

“They handed me a pamphlet and wished me good luck with my prognosis. If I was lucky, I had at most, ten years to live.”

Running from the traumas of his troubled childhood and into the hands of an abusive relationship with his music professor, Tim would encounter horrors so deep it would take years to crawl out of the abyss of pain.

But like a phoenix that rises from the ashes, so too, did Tim. After nearly dying from AIDS-related complications in 2009, Tim lost the basis of his mobility and yet emerged with a new lease on life.

He channeled his pain to power, turning to advocate for the very causes that plagued him. Tim became a human rights activist who started a company called Southern Time Productions. Now identifying with the disenfranchised Global South, he used his platform to propel the messages of advocacy the best way he knew how: through artistry.

Today, Tim stands empowered and wishes to continue being an agent for change and representation by merging art with activism = artivism.