How to Survive a Plague

“The whole world is watching!”, chant the protestors in front of the barricaded National Institute of Health, where the bureaucratic unwillingness to hold a dialogue or take any action costs more lives each day. We are in the 1980s, and a disease is spreading as fast as the flu, striking predominantly young men and turning them into withering, dying wrecks in a horrifyingly short period of time. Nobody has any information, the media and the government are silent and whispers start spreading about a “homosexual plague”, with no treatment available, nor any advice on how to protect yourself. David France's documentary uses exclusive, never-seen-before footage shot directly on the spot and at a time when two activist groups – ACT UP and TAG – joined forces and started fighting for their lives. They themselves searched for treatment possibilities of at least the symptoms, created huge community support and used guerilla non-violent protests combined with radical art to break the general silence that was literally deadly. A thrilling, uncompromising film about a revolution and its heroes.