State of Denial
Encyclopedia
- For the book by Bob Woodward, see State of Denial: Bush at War, Part IIIState of Denial: Bush at War, Part IIIState of Denial: Bush at War, Part III is a book by Bob Woodward, originally due to be published October 2, 2006 , that examines how the George W. Bush administration managed the Iraq War after the 2003 invasion...
.
State of Denial is a 2003 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, produced and directed by Elaine Epstein. The film highlights the errors of President Mbeki's government, which insists that there isn't enough evidence to show that HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
causes AIDS and refuses vital life-saving drugs to their people because of unknown long-term risks. The film follows the stories of HIV positive Africans and activists as well as their careers, interspersed with the harrowing statistics of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. It features various HIV positive patients coping with the disease in times when the use of ARV medicine was strongly discouraged by the South African government.
The movie captures the desperation and growing discontent of average South Africans infected and affected by the disease. Some of the subjects interviewed make heartbreaking but inspirational statements about AIDS and how living with it is like. After the death of his brother who also succumbed to the disease, a young man is filmed saying the following:
For me, it was the most traumatic time in my life because I could see myself in him. You know, he didn’t really have to die as helplessly as he did. And not only him, but thousands and thousands of people are dying unnecessarily. It makes me sick.
The movie also features Zackie Achmat
Zackie Achmat
Zackie Achmat is a South African activist, most widely known as founder and chairman of the Treatment Action Campaign and for his work on the behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa.-Early life:...
, an HIV positive AIDS activist and co-founder of Treatment Action Campaign
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign is a South African AIDS activist organization which was founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background of its founder...
(TAC), who refused to take ARVs until they were made available to the general public.
State of Denial was first shown at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
It later aired on TV as part of the Acclaimed Point of View Documentary Film Series. Four of the subjects interviewed died before the movie was released.
See also
- AIDS denialism, a movement challenging the scientific consensusScientific consensusScientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study. Consensus implies general agreement, though not necessarily unanimity. Scientific consensus is not by itself a scientific argument, and it is not part of the...
that HIV causes AIDS.