After the Fall: HIV Grows Up

Behind the Romanian AIDS Epidemic

Beginning in 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu came to power and established a neo-Stalinist police-state. He denied the existence of AIDS in Romania, and thus no HIV/AIDS treatment or prevention education was provided. Ceausescu's government eventually fell in 1989, but by then the damage had already been done, resulting in one of the largest pediatric AIDS epidemics in the world. AFTER THE FALL: HIV GROWS UP is an intimate portrait of a group of Romanian young adults living with HIV and their efforts to integrate into society, marry, have families and embark on successful careers. Unfortunately, discrimination against HIV positive people is still a fact of life, and funding for treatment is shrinking. After the Fall attempts to give a generation of those affected a voice and garner support for them and for the prevention of HIV in the future.