Spanning the 1970s until today, the story of Gaétan Dugas – aka ‘Patient Zero’ – serves as the perfect microcosm of the evolution of AIDS in America and the country’s response to it. In the early 1980s, little was known about this global epidemic, except that it seemed to be most prevalent amongst gay men. America was in the grip of fear and uncertainty and, in the scramble for answers, Dugas would become known and vilified as ‘Patient Zero’. Exploring timely themes about fear, the demonizing of the unknown and the danger of false narratives, this Fadoo Productions and Fine Point Films documentary weaves social history and scientific investigation into a poignant story of an individual who became intrinsically and tragically linked with AIDS.
Cast: Andrew Stoner, B. Ruby Rich, Brian Freeman, Brian Willoughby, Douglas Crimp, Dr. Andrew Moss, Dr. Christos Tsoukas, Dr. Harold Jaffe, Dr. Jacques Pepin, Dr. James W. Curran, Dr. Lawrence Mass, Dr. Marcus Conant, Dr. Michael Worobey, Dr. Thomas D. Watts, Ed Lee, Elaine Watson, Fran Lebowitz, Gaetane Urevig, Gordon Price, John Greyson, Ken Maley, Marie Wadden, Matthew Hays, Michael Denneny, Michael Welsh, Noah Stewart, Piere-Claude Levaque, R.M. Vaughan, Rand Gaynor, Ray Redford, Richard Berkowitz, Richard Bisson, Richard McKay, Ross Murray, Steve Newman, Susan Sward, Tim McCaskell,William W. Darrow