Join Mike Benner, Executive Director of the Greater Community AIDS Project of East Central Illinois (GCAP); Jerry Carden, founding Gay Community AIDS Project; Susan Johnson, Care Coordinator for the Champaign Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD); and Julie A. Pryde, Administrator for the CUPHD in dialogue around the film United in Anger: A History of ACT UP–The Grassroots Movement to End the AIDS Crisis.
A short preview of United in Anger will be shown so more time is devoted to the dialogue. We encourage you to see United in Anger before the program. It can be accessed for free on Kanopy (external link) with your Urbana Free Library (external link) or Champaign Public Library (external link) cards. University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff also have free access to Kanopy. Check the website to see if your local library is affiliated. The film can be rented or purchased on other platforms for a small fee.
About the film
An inspiring documentary about the birth and life of the AIDS activist movement from the perspective of the people in the trenches fighting the epidemic. Utilizing oral histories of members of ACT UP, as well as rare archival footage, the film depicts the efforts of ACT UP as it battles corporate greed, social indifference, and government neglect.
The film takes the viewer through the planning and execution of a half dozen exhilarating major actions including Seize Control of the FDA, Stop the Church, and Day of Desperation, with a timeline of many of the other actions that forced the U.S. government and mainstream media to deal with the AIDS crisis. United in Anger reveals the group’s complex culture—meetings, affinity groups, and approaches to civil disobedience mingle with profound grief, sexiness, and the incredible energy of ACT UP.
