We are going to make a loop. Ready? The Oscars are in just over a week. Lincoln has been nominated for 12 awards and is expected to sweep. One of the awards for which it is nominated – rightfully – is Best Adapted Screenplay. The script in question was written by Tony Kushner, who is responsible for the play “Angels in America,” which was adapted into a six-hour HBO miniseries by Kushner and Mike Nichols. Angels in America is incredible and beautiful. It is set in the 1980s and deals with various stories of people dealing with sexuality, AIDS, and religion – specifically Mormonism and Judaism. It is an excellent portrait of the AIDS crisis, presented in a pretty fantastical way.

One of this year's Oscar-nominated documentaries is entitled How to Survive a Plague. As the AIDS epidemic became widespread, it was largely ignored by the mainstream, being labeled a “gay disease” and thus not worth the bother of “normal” people. However, two coalitions stepped up: ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group). With their influence, pharmaceutical companies began to address the issue, helping to turn the disease from an absolute death sentence to something more manageable. This film is their story.

(Further note on the awards front: it is competing for the Oscar with documentaries dealing with nonviolent protest, rape in the military, a renegade musician, and Israel's war on terror.)

The Clifton Center presents How to Survive a Plague this upcoming Sunday as part of the Wild and Woolly Film Series. It will screen at 7:00. Admission is free for Friends of the Clifton Center and $5 for the general public. The Clifton Center is located at 2117 Payne Street. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Clifton Center website.

Image: Internet Movie Database