How to Survive a Plague

With post-screening Q&A with AIDS activist and the film's own Peter Staley.

In honor of World AIDS Day, the Center is proud to offer a free community screening of David France’s acclaimed documentary, How To Survive A Plague, in the very same room where ACT UP first began. How To Survive A Plague is the story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making.