Search

By Keyword

By Genre

By Format

Catalogue Links

HIV & Me: Stephen Fry

Factual Documentaries, Real Life Stories / 2 x 60' / Airline, DVD, Non-Theatric

BBC Productions & West Park Pictures

The early 1980’s was an exciting time in Stephen Fry’s life, he left university, moved to the big city and his career was just beginning to take off. But this was also the time that he, like the rest of the world, first heard that a strange and devastating virus had arrived on our doorstep. Bemused scientists were at a loss to find an effective treatment . It didn’t have a name then, but now it is known to all as HIV. 30 years on HIV is still here, but an awful lot has changed.

From USA, to Africa, and the UK, Stephen Fry will track down people whose lives have been transformed by this brutal disease, including those he holds dear. Stephen will meet the doctors who were instrumental in initially defining the disease, such as Professor Brian Gazzard, formerly Freddy Mercury’s doctor and Professor Michael Gottlieb, Rock Hudson’s doctor. He talks to people serving jail sentences for deliberately spreading the disease, and to public figures such as George Michael and the writer Armistead Maupin, who are all dedicated to spreading awareness.

Stephen also sets out to track down some of the earliest diagnosed people who are, miraculously, still alive. He discovers what living with HIV really means, and what the future holds for this persistent and misunderstood illness.