Life Before the Lifeboat: San Francisco’s Courageous Response to the AIDS Outbreak

The AIDS epidemic caused by HIV virus found its way to the US as early as 1960, but it was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in gay men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
On April 24, 1981, San Francisco resident Ken Horne reported to the CDC with Kaposi’s sarcoma. Later in 1981, he was retroactively identified as the first patient of the AIDS epidemic in the US.
This documentary takes a look at the early years of the San Francisco epidemic. It is the brainchild of AIDS pioneering physician Paul Volberding, who now serves as the director of the AIDS Research Institute.
The documentary features his intimate conversations with some of the courageous leaders from the early days of the AIDS epidemic.