Films that dealt with AIDS

While AIDS and related stigma might have been a sensitive issue, several international filmmakers have dealt with the topic beautifully. There are a number of films in which the emotions and social plight of people who are HIV positive have been portrayed well. A look at some of the films that were pathbreaking in dealing with the subject...
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
After being diagnosed with AIDS, Ron Woodroof smuggles medication from Texas to distribute it to others with the condition, inviting the wrath of the system.Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won the Oscar for the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. The highly-acclaimed film also won several other awards for production at the Oscars.
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Yesterday (2004) Director: Darrell Roodt The South African film is about a young mother who discovers she has AIDS. Deserted by her husband, she wants to live only to see her daughter go to school. The film was nominated under the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards.
Precious (2009) Director: Lee Daniels Based on the novel Push, the film stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and Mariah Carey. Sidibe plays Precious, who is impregnated by her father. She soon finds out he died of AIDS and she has also tested positive for HIV. But she doesn’t let this affect her and continues to hope for the best.
Pedro (2008) Director: Nick Oceano The film is about Pedro Zamora, a gay AIDS educator and television personality. It sketches the story of how Pedro actively participates in spreading awareness about AIDS and traces his life.
Gia (1998) Director: Michael Cristofer Angelina Jolie’s stunning portrayal of Gia catapulted her into the big league. The film traces the life of a real-life model who plummets into the dark world of drugs, wild lifestyle and contracts AIDS after an emotional crisis. It won several awards at the Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild.

Philadelphia (1993) Director: Jonathan Demme The Tom Hanks-Denzel Washington-starrer is one of the first films to come to mind when you think of movies that deal with the topic of AIDS. It’s about a man who gets fired by his law firm for testing positive for AIDS. He hires a homophobic, small-time lawyer to fight his case. One of the first mainstream Hollywood films to openly acknowledge HIV/AIDS, Hanks even won an Academy Award for his performance.
Quick stats
35mn people were living with HIV globally at the end of 2013, according to estimates by WHO and UNAIDS.
2.1mn people who were newly infected with HIV globally at the end of 2013.
70% of the global total of new HIV infections are from sub-Saharan Africa.
60% reduction in chances of sexual transmission of HIV by male circumcision.
WATCH: Dallas Buyers Club trailer