Chronique d'une catastrophe annoncée
Philip Brooks
2001 - 55 min - Betacam - Couleur - France

This is the story of how the world's top decision makers knowingly failed to prevent the spread of the AIDS epidemic. It is the story of how governments, institutions and key individuals turned a blind eye and allowed a catastrophe to fester. A catastrophe that could have undoubtedly been avoided.
Since it first appeared 20 years ago, AIDS has left behind it a trail of destruction. It has already killed 30 million people, and infected another 50 million. By the end of this current decade an estimated 100 million people will perish from this disease.
"Account of a catastrophe foretold" addresses the question of why the world waited so long before reacting. It dissects the key moments in the global response to the epidemic. It also reveals through this human catastrophe the existing rift within today's global world.
"Account of a catastrophe foretold" is a film about a virus. A virus shrouded in taboo and fantasy because of its primary means of transmission : sex. The taboo and stigma surrounding AIDS are so profound that 20 later, people all over the world still attempt to deny its existence.
Key actors, who have lived this drama for the past 20 years, tell the story. They come from the North and the South, from inside and outside pharmaceutical companies, governments and international institutions. They have been witnesses to the hopes and failures, errors and denials. They tell how those who had power to do something did not act either deliberately, through ignorance, denial or simply because there was no interest in it for them. Backed up by archives and testimonies, the film reveals the degree of indifference and ignorance with which HIV/AIDS has been dealt with.