2012 | USA | 93 min.

Writer & Director
Jim Hubbard

“As scrappy and passionate as the actions it documents, United in Anger: A History of Act Up delivers a living tribute to a movement spawned by death and despair….Combining rousing feet-on-the-ground footage with chatty interviews from the Act Up Oral History Project — often juxtaposed with robust archival film of the speakers’ younger selves — the director, Jim Hubbard, lays out a methodical timeline of orneriness and daring.”

— Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

“If the AIDS crisis has crested, it's due in large part to the radical advocacy group so intelligently portrayed in "United in Anger: A History of ACT UP," a documentary that could have been a lot angrier but aims to educate rather than agitate.”

— John Anderson, Variety

“My students, all of whom were born after ACT UP’s founding, were electrified, informed, and inspired by United in Anger. Nothing they had read about ACT UP had given them so vivid a sense of the militancy, courage, compassion, tactics, media smarts, and influence of the organization, or its complex internal culture and politics. I plan to screen it every year in my LGBT history class, and highly recommend that other teachers do the same.”

— George Chauncey, Professor of History and Chair of LGBT Studies, Yale University, and author of Gay New York

“[UNITED IN ANGER] is a fast-paced, meticulously researched combination of protest videos and present-day interviews that will stand as a testament to the efforts of those people to survive, and as an education tool to counter the collective amnesia that leads to thinking that ‘AIDS is over’ or that the government always has the best interests of its citizens at heart.”

— Jordan Arseneault, 2B Magazine

“That's the thrilling part of it all, when you see these events come together and you see the government, drug companies and powers that be actually be shaken—and shamed—out of their apathy.”

— Greg Hernandez, Greginhollywood.com

“The film is a brilliantly edited, concise history that gains in momentum and thrills as it proceeds to the victories won by the group. It’s a blessing that so many of ACT UP’s original members still survive, largely through their own efforts, and here provide eloquent, insightful and passionate witness to the tragedy and triumph.”

— David Noh, Film Journal

“UNITED IN ANGER isn't just a film, it's a teaching tool for future activists. Those future activists are us.”

— Gabrielle Korn & Jamie Hagen, Autostraddle

United in Anger
A History of Act Up

ABOUT THE FILM:
UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT UP explores the story of ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) from the grassroots perspective—how a small group of men and women of all races and classes, came together to change the world and save each other’s lives. The film takes the viewer through the planning and execution of a dozen exhilarating major actions including Seize Control of the FDA, Stop the Church, and Day of Desperation, with a timeline of many of the other zaps and actions that forced the U.S. government and mainstream media to deal with the AIDS crisis. UNITED IN ANGER reveals the group’s complex culture—meetings, affinity groups, and approaches to civil disobedience mingle with profound grief, sexiness, and the incredible energy of ACT UP.

Before there was Occupy Wall Street or the Arab Spring, there was ACT UP.

FESTIVALS
Hot Docs 2012, MoMA Documentary Fortnight, Best of HotDocs Vancouver, Frameline, Outfest, Rio International Film Festival, Torino Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Hamburg International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Click here to watch the trailer.

Click here for more information about this film.

WEBSITE:
unitedinanger.com

To preview the film or to purchase for your institution, please email us as at jeffrey@thefilmcollaborative.org