How to Survive a Plague

Two grassroots coalitions are made up of innovative activists who fought to turn AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.

Film Signature Image
Series
Independent Lens
Premiere Date
December 30, 2013
Length
90 minutes
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2013 Academy Awards-Best Documentary Feature
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2013 News and Documentary Emmy Awards-Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2013 News and Documentary Emmy Awards-Best Documentary
  • Award laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2013 Peabody Awards-George Foster Peabody Award
  • Award laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2012 IFP Gotham Awards-Best Documentary
  • Award laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2012 International Documentary Association (IDA)-Best First Film
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    Director

    David France

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    The Film

    How to Survive a Plague is the story of two coalitions — ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) — made up of self-made activists, many of them HIV-positive, who challenged the pharmaceutical industry, then helped it to identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.

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