About this event
A man delves into his family archives—yellowed photos, Super 8 films—to understand and to remember. The 1980s. The “AIDS” years. Images of his uncle Désiré, who died of what was then called “the disease of drug addicts and fags.” At the intersection of autobiographical narrative and documentary investigation, the text traces the emergence of AIDS in the author’s family, while delving behind the scenes of international medical research: the race to identify the virus, the quest for a treatment, the dead ends, the hopes, and the rivalry between French and American researchers. Forty years after Désiré’s death, Anthony Passeron undertakes a two-pronged investigation: one into family history, revealing the mechanisms of silence, shame, and denial; and one into scientific history, a global medical epic interwoven with the personal. “I tried to understand what people in my grandparents’ village might have known about this disease at that time. (…) Only writing could set this story straight.” — Anthony Passeron On stage, four performers bring to life the tension between personal and collective history, between intimate memory and collective history. ⚠️ Smoke effects (minimal but present pyrotechnics)
