How to Survive a Plague Screening: Early AIDS Activists Protest
DGA Theater 1 (Los Angeles, CA)
David France’s rousing feature-length documentary — an Outfest 2012 centerpiece — turns a spotlight on the grassroots groups formed by HIV-positive activists in the early years of the AIDS crisis, who made sure the voices of their dying brethren were heard — loudly — in Washington and at the Centers for Disease Control. Laying the groundwork for the Occupy movement and other protest groups, the media-savvy ACT UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group) schooled themselves in the scientific jargon and carried out theatrical, camera-ready events to draw attention to their urgent cause. That provided the Sundance documentary’s director with recordings and rare multiple-angle coverage, which he combines with new interviews with Larry Kramer and other key figures, revealing a fascinating and dramatic look at the groups’ various behind-the-scenes strategies. Ticketholders are invited to a post-screening reception in the theater lobby.
Be the first to comment