Time of Pandemics

Directed by Rehad Desai

87 minutes / Color
Closed Captioned
Release: 2023
Copyright: 2021

“Global pandemics need global efforts.” - Rehad Desai

By the time COVID-19 appeared, South African filmmaker Rehad Desai was all-too-familiar with pandemics. Not only had he previously worked in HIV prevention, he was also in the midst of making a film about a clinical trial for a vaccine that held the promise of ending new AIDS infections.

South Africa’s HIV response was slowed by science-denying politicians, along with global trade rules and corporate pharmaceutical greed that prevented those most in need from getting treatment. In TIME OF PANDEMICS, Desai argues that the world has repeated many of these same mistakes with COVID-19. The all-in-it-together ethos of the pandemic’s early days gave way to rich countries buying up the world’s vaccine doses, while intellectual property laws prevented poorer countries from manufacturing their own.

In tracing the history of HIV and COVID-19, TIME OF PANDEMICS provides a broad overview, while also highlighting personal impacts—from the ways our economic system is driving the spread of novel pathogens, to the moving stories of individuals participating in clinical trials, hoping to spare others from pain and loss.

Featuring interviews with scientists and public health activists including Anthony Fauci, Glenda Gray (known for her work with children and HIV), and Aslam Dasoo of the Progressive Health Forum, TIME OF PANDEMICS is an ambitious, multi-faceted documentary. In an age when the potential for new pandemics keeps growing, it offers a comprehensive history of how we got here—and a look at how we should face the challenges to come.

“(Editor's Choice!) A fantastic documentary from start to finish... Those seeking new content about the COVID-19 pandemic or HIV and AIDS should consider Time of Pandemics above all other titles.” —Video Librarian

[Time of Pandemics] strikingly displays how the viruses (COVID-19 & HIV/AIDS) and the responses mimic each other... Insights from a variety of expert interviewees give a full picture of the impact these dual pandemics have.” —Educational Media Reviews Online

Other Ways to Watch

Colleges, Universities, Government Agencies, Hospitals, and Corporations
This title is available for streaming only.

Available for educational streaming from:

Select Accolades

  • Movies that Matter 2022
  • Video Librarian's Best Documentaries of 2023

RELATED TITLES

A galvanizing examination of the fight for free college education that burst onto the South African political landscape and quickly escalated into a violent national movement. 

Rehad Desai | 2019 | 85 minutes | Color | English | Closed Captioned

A sweeping look at the big political events of recent years that signify the end of an era in South Africa.

Rehad Desai and Jabulani Mzozo | 2017 | 77 minutes | Color | English | English subtitles | Closed Captioned

The story of the Gupta family’s spectacular rise from flea market shoe salesmen to establishing a massive black owned business empire in South Africa.

Rehad Desai & Mark Kaplan | 2020 | 93 minutes | Color | English | Closed Captioned

How could 34 South African mineworkers be killed during a non-violent strike for better wages... not under apartheid, but today?

Rehad Desai | 2014 | 86 minutes | Color | English | English subtitles