93' 2018 USA director: Dan Krauss, Paul Haggis cinematography: Andrew Eckmann editing: Christopher Dillon production: HWY 61 Films Production
When a new wave of homophobia brings about stigmatization and ostracism, it is worth mentioning the times when the fear of homosexual people turned into an actual panic. This documentary film made by Dan Krauss and Paul Haggis allows the audiences to find themselves in the heart of that storm—on the Ward 5B of San Francisco General Hospital. Built in 1983, the ward could not offer an effective cure to their patients, but became a battleground of ideas about how the patients suffering from "the gay disease" would pass away. Would it happen in a full isolation and confinement, or would they be cared for and supported? The medical staff was almost forced to minimize physical contacts with the patients and to approach them in hazmat suits. Almost, because the attitude of volunteers—nurses and doctors—would not allow it to happen. 5B is their story, full of fascinating archival materials and amazing testimonies. It’s a story about true heroism, the power of human touch, and the strength of human solidarity, which managed to tear apart the social hysteria.
