Check out the new documentary, “The Last Mile” on the AIDS epidemic, the impact of “Philadelphia” and the progress we’ve made today!
The new documentary short, The Last Mile, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ground-breaking movie Philadelphia. Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Mary Steenburgen, and Ron Nyswaner; (RED), Coca-Cola, and National Geographic teamed up to show how this movie led a social revolution in people’s perspective on AIDS as well as the progress we’ve made so far in treating AIDS.
25 years ago, Philadelphia changed the world’s perspective on the AIDS epidemic. In the 1980s, AIDS was something people didn’t really understand and because of the that, they were terrified of the disease and those who had it. People who were dying and in need of help and support from their friends and family were instead shunned. With hundreds of thousands of people dying worldwide, it quickly became the leading cause of death for young men. So many friends, family, and loved ones were lost to the disease that it inspired the creation of Philadelphia. “This movie started from a call, from Jonathan Demme to me,” Ron Nyswaner, writer of Philadelphia recalled, “he said ‘Ron, my best friend’s just been diagnosed with AIDS, and the only thing I know how to do is make a movie, so will you make a movie with me about AIDS?’ That’s Philadelphia.” The documentary also follows Veronica Martins José, a health worker in the Zambezia Province in Mozambique. She works for her community to bring medicines and treat people infected with Malaria and AIDS. In the past, Sub-Saharan Africa dealt with the most deaths from AIDS, but today, people like Veronica can have access to medicines that save lives in her local community. With partnerships with (RED) and Project Last Mile, Coca-Cola has brought their expertise in global distribution to help get life-saving medicines in the hands of everyone that needs it. Today, 22 million people worldwide have access to AIDS treatment and the overall deaths from AIDS have gone down 51% since 2005.
Check out the beautifully created documentary below and consider donating to help people continue to fight AIDS at red.org/cocacola