Pharma giants’ ‘holocaust against the poor’

Fire In The Blood, winner of eight international awards, screens in two parts on Al Jazeera English on 31 October and 7 November 2014 at 21h00 CAT.

After 1996, Western pharmaceutical companies and governments blocked access to low-cost generic AIDS drugs for the countries of the global south, causing ten million or more preventable deaths. Fire In The Blood is the untold story of the unlikely alliance which came together to stop this ‘holocaust against the poor’ and save millions of lives in the process. The documentary was shot in eight countries on four continents, with contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton and Joseph Stiglitz, as well as African human rights icons like Desmond Tutu, Peter Mugyenyi, Edwin Cameron, and Zackie Achmat.

Director Dylan Mohan Grey says, “Whenever anyone asks me what Fire in the Blood is all about, I always say it’s about the crime of the century. I felt totally compelled to make this film because the historian in me first could not believe, and then could not accept, that there was not a single film or even book in circulation which told this endlessly fascinating and important story…”

Oscar-winner William Hurt narrates the devastating documentary, which was released theatrically in the USA, UK, Ireland and India, where it set an all-time record for the longest theatrical run by any non-fiction feature film.

Leading film magazine Empire called it “a film to provoke fury… It’s the arrogance and greed of the drug tycoons that leaves a lingering impression, as they conspired to allow ten million to die simply so that they could maximise their profits.”

The problem continues today, as the World Trade Organization continues to block the importation of generic drugs in many countries because of a trade deal known as the TRIPS Agreement.

Read the rave reviews for Fire In The Blood on Rotten Tomatoes, where the documentary has an 88% tomatometer, or visit http://fireintheblood.com/ for more information.