FILM SERIES
Viruses on Film
“There are more viruses on earth than stars in the universe. In Viruses on Film, pathogens star in a cinematic exploration of how microorganisms shape human politics, thinking, desire, and intimacy around the world. Spanning seven decades, the filmmakers in this retrospective sometimes imagine viruses musically (The Hole), as science fiction (12 Monkeys, The Andromeda Strain), as Hollywood drama (Contagion), as British and Korean zombie horror (28 Days Later, Train to Busan) and as darkly comic metaphors of capitalism (Parasite) and computers (Hackers). But other times, they confront viruses directly, depicting when Ebola devastated Sierra Leone (Survivors); how HIV shaped gay activism and love in France (BPM), England (Blue) and the United States (Tongues Untied, United in Anger); and, in Brazil, why the novel coronavirus forced humans to find sex and connection in new ways (Follow the Protocols) while making great sacrifices (Voluntario ****1864). From the medieval-era bubonic plague in Roger Corman’s campy 1964 Masque of the Red Death to the overwhelmed Wuhan hospitals in Weixi Chen, Hao Wu and Anonymous’s 2020 documentary 76 Days, these 18 films from eight countries in in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas will help viewers not only process our viral past and present but—perhaps—to learn from viruses how we might imagine a better future, together.”
—Steven W. Thrasher, co-curator and author of The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide
Soderbergh’s achingly relevant, star-studded thriller holds up in our endemic reality.
A time-traveling Bruce Willis must save humanity from a virus in Terry Gilliam’s gonzo trip.
Anarchistic hackers must save the world in this fast-paced cyberpunk thriller.
The history of the revolutionary 1980s activism group ACT UP told by its own members.
A moving exploration of queer culture in France seen through the eyes of ACT UP’s activism.
A Brazilian man picks up numerous pandemic hobbies to distract from his sexual yearning.
Cillian Murphy runs from zombies in this smash-hit thriller from Danny Boyle.
Two neighbors connect via a hole in the ceiling as a mysterious illness grips Taiwan.
Marlon Riggs’ radical performance-fueled essay film centers Black gay male identity.
Bong Joon-ho’s diabolical satire examines the familial tensions of life under capitalism.
Passengers and ravaging zombies are trapped on a train in this South Korean horror-flick.
Disillusioned with the press, Sierra Leoneans tell their own story of the Ebola crisis.
A nine-month window into the lives of the volunteers for Brazil’s Covid-19 vaccine trial.
Never-before-seen footage of the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan hospitals.
Humanity is in jeopardy when an alien-infested satellite crashes in a rural town.
Vincent Price is a sadistic prince tormenting peasants during a plague outbreak.
Derek Jarman’s final film is an elegy to his life-ending struggle with AIDS.