Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Just 40 years ago, AIDS patients were turned away at major
hospitals, or they might be quarantined in broom closets, until they died. Nurses
and doctors went to court, refusing to take care of AIDS patients, much less touch them, love them or make them feel good, at a
time when it was still unclear, exactly how AIDS was transmitted.
In 1983, a group of nurses and doctors changed the face of
AIDS care and treatment at San Francisco General Hospital, opening what became
known as Ward 5B. The documentary, titled 5B is the story of this ward, and the unconventional, groundbreaking means that were implemented to care for the patents, who walked in, mostly to die.
Narrated in
2018 by the extraordinary nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers who founded the ward, in 1983, the documentary uses
archival footage from the 1980s to chronicle victories and setbacks, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, prior to the discovery of ARTs (Antiretroviral therapies). A period of time when 3,000 people were diagnosed with AIDS, half of them dying, in San Francisco alone.
A must-see for anyone interested in the decriminalization of disease,
and the humanization of care. Protocols for AIDS patient care and treatment, effective today, were developed in Ward 5B, forever changing the care, worldwide.
Presented at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, co-produced by Paul Haggis, Dan Krauss, Hayley Pappas, Rupert Maconick, Brett Henenberg, Guru Gowrappan, Brendan Gaul, and co-directed by Paul Haggis and Dan Krauss, the official trailer of the documentary 5B is included below.
Presented at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, co-produced by Paul Haggis, Dan Krauss, Hayley Pappas, Rupert Maconick, Brett Henenberg, Guru Gowrappan, Brendan Gaul, and co-directed by Paul Haggis and Dan Krauss, the official trailer of the documentary 5B is included below.
References
UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund - World AIDS Day 2019
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