“How to Survive a Plague" at the Figge Art Museum -- June 5.
Sunday, June 5, 4 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Held in celebration of Gay Pride Month, a Film at the Figge screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague will be shown at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on June 5, this riveting, powerful tale of AIDS activists a Peabody Award winner for Best Documentary and a work the New York Times praised for its “scorching electrical charge,” as well as its “rage, fear, fiery determination, and, finally, triumph.”
Beginning at the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City, How to Survive a Plague follows a group of AIDS activists and founders of the AIDS group ACT UP, and details their struggle for response from the United States government and medical establishment in developing effective HIV/AIDS medications. Activists took it upon themselves to convince the FDA to approve drugs which could slow or even halt the AIDS virus, and demanded that drug trials (which would usually take 7-10 years) be shortened so potentially life-saving treatments could be made available. The film also documents the underground market for HIV drugs: many people relied on drugs imported from other countries, which were believed to potentially slow down the HIV virus despite not being FDA-approved.
At the time, the only drug available to slow the progression of HIV was AZT, which in many cases was toxic to HIV-infected people, and in some cases even caused blindness. The cost of AZT was about $10,000 per year in the late 1980s. ACT UP's efforts led to the creation of the International AIDS Conference, and eventually DDI, an alternative to AZT that did not cause blindness, was released by the FDA despite not going through a full-length safety trial. HIV activists also protested the immigration policies banning HIV-positive people from immigrating to the United States as being discriminatory and homophobic. When existing drugs proved ineffective as treatment for HIV, TAG lobbied for more research into the HIV virus. In 1996, protease inhibitors were released, consisting of a combination of drugs which lower the HIV viral load in patients more than any drug had before. It was considered a breakthrough in HIV and AIDS research and continues to be used as a treatment for HIV and AIDS.
Directed by David France, a journalist who covered AIDS from its beginnings, How to Survive a Plague includes interviews with HIV activists, physicians, and members of underground organizations, as well as clips of the protests, meetings and news coverage taking place during the 1980s and 1990s. France's book of the same title, expanding on the material, events, and people covered in the film, was published in 2016 and was named to numerous best-of and top-10 lists, including the New York Times' 100 Notable Books for 2016. The film, meanwhile, received awards for best documentary of 2012 from the Gotham Independent Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and the Boston Society of Film Critics, and it was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.
How to Survive a Plague will be screened in the John Deere Auditorium on June 5, admission to the 4 p.m. Film at the Figge event is free, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.
