How to Survive a Plague traces the history of two groups—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose fervent activism and innovative strategies through the 1980s and 1990s helped transform AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, ushering them through experimental trials and getting them into the hands of patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage, director David France chronicles the controversial initiatives, heated debates, heartbreaking failures and exultant victories of this groundbreaking movement.