AIDS is the worst health crisis in modern history. More than 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and already 24 million have died. Unless significant action is taken now, by 2010 there will be 100 million people infected and over 40 million children orphaned by AIDS worldwide. South Africa is the epicenter of the pandemic, with 5 million people with HIV/AIDS and more than 660,000 children orphaned by AIDS. The situation has been further complicated by the lack of government leadership and action in the face of this catastrophic crisis. Yet, there are reasons to have hope: this is a disease that can be prevented and treated. And the South African people, who so recently overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to end apartheid, have the capacity and tenacity to meet this greater challenge. Zackie Achmat, co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), has been living with HIV since 1990. TIME calls Zackie, "The activist who has led the campaign for AIDS treatment in South Africa... raising new hope for millions of AIDS sufferers throughout the developing world." In his fight for justice, Zackie has been imprisoned and risked his own life. Although he has AIDS and access to anti-retroviral treatment, he refused to take the medicines until they were available to all South Africans. Nelson Mandela and people around the world urged him to abandon this course of action and save his own life. But it wasn't until September 2003, when the entire TAC membership demanded he take anti-retrovirals, that he agreed. A few days later, the government reversed its position and promised to provide AIDS treatment nationally. Zackie was at the forefront of student uprisings against apartheid. He is also a leader of South Africa's gay rights movement, which set international precedent when it succeeded in incorporating the protection of gay and lesbian rights in the new Constitution. Nonkosi Khumalo, TAC's Women's Health Coordinator, is a hero in her own right. Nonkosi works to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, build local branches of TAC, increase treatment literacy and advance women's health in South Africa's poorest regions. This award-winning film on AIDS in South Africa, featuring Zackie Achmat, takes an unflinching journey into a society struggling to overcome the harsh realities of illness, global healthcare inequities, and governmental paralysis. Producer/Director Elaine Epstein, a South African who has worked extensively in AIDS and public health, offers a unique insider's look at the complex issues affecting South Africans living with HIV/AIDS.