In How To Survive A Plague, producer David France looks at the rise and success of HIV/AIDS advocacy groups ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group).

The documentary, which first premiered at Sundance 2012, opens in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco on Friday, September 21, with a national release to follow.

The powerful film pieces together archival footage to tell the story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG – “whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.”

A trailer for the film released Monday highlights the anger, fear, hysteria and hopelessness that gripped much of the gay community at the start of the pandemic and begins with an angry Larry Kramer screaming, “40 million people infected is a plague.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)