Fire in the Blood (2013 film)

Fire in the Blood
Directed byDylan Mohan Gray
Written byDylan Mohan Gray
Produced byDylan Mohan Gray
Narrated byWilliam Hurt
CinematographyJay Jay Odedra
Edited byDylan Mohan Gray
Music byAshutosh Phatak
Production
company
Sparkwater India
Release dates
  • 23 January 2013 (2013-01-23) (Sundance Film Festival)
  • 11 October 2013 (2013-10-11) (India)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish

Fire in the Blood is a 2013 documentary film by Dylan Mohan Gray depicting what it claims is the intentional obstruction of access to low-cost antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS to people in Africa and other parts of the global south, driven by multinational pharmaceutical companies holding patent monopolies and various Western governments (above all those of the United States, European Union and Switzerland) consistently supporting these companies. The film claims that the battle against what it refers to as a "genocidal blockade," which it estimates to have resulted in no less than ten to twelve million completely unnecessary deaths, was fought and (at least temporarily) won.

Fire in the Blood features contributions from former US President Bill Clinton, intellectual property activist James Love, global health reporter Donald McNeil, Jr. of The New York Times, HIV/AIDS treatment activist Zackie Achmat, pioneering generic drug maker Yusuf Hamied, former Pfizer executive-turned-whistleblower Peter Rost, Ugandan AIDS physician Peter Mugyenyi, and Nobel Prize-laureates Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz.[1][2]

The film is narrated by Academy Award-winning actor William Hurt, who lent his voice to the film on a pro bono basis because he felt the story and subject matter were so important.[3]

In November 2013, Fire in the Blood set a new record for the longest theatrical run by a non-fiction feature film in India: five weeks.[4]

In November 2018, Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker John Pilger included Fire in the Blood among his selection of "26 landmark documentary films of the past seven decades."[5]

  1. ^ Miriam Bale (5 September 2013). "Where AIDS Steals Life by the Millions". New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mint was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "10 Acclaimed HIV Films to Watch After 'It's a Sin'". www.hivplusmag.com. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  4. ^ Bolly Spice, 2 November 2013: Indian documentary Fire in the Blood breaks record for longest run in Indian cinemas Re-linked 2014-11-01
  5. ^ "The Power of the Documentary: Breaking the Silence | MCA Australia".