How to Survive a Plague

„How to Survive a Plague” is the story of a community’s fight against institutions of power that sought to ignore the plight of American citizens, effectively condemning them to death. By the end of the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic had claimed over a million lives worldwide. Two activist organizations, ACT UP and TAG, began advocacy among the gay community and, by extension, the whole population to raise awareness and spark the political will to improve care for the infected, stimulate medical research, and ultimately stop the disease. David France's film offers a raw vision of those uncertain times, faithfully rendered with archival footage and interviews with the movement’s notable members. “How to Survive a Plague” pays homage to the departed and reconstructs a part of recent history nearly forgotten in the mainstream, yet so formative for LGBT+ movements.