10 documentaries and TV series about viruses

1. Pandemic: How to prevent spread

USA, 2020.
Documentary.
Duration: 1 season (6 episodes, 50 minutes each).
IMDb: 6, 3.

Let's go with the trump cards: this is an option for those who do not have time for the entire list.

At the beginning of the year, when the coronavirus was not yet on everyone's lips, Pandemic appeared on Netflix - a six-part project dedicated to the global cause of fighting viruses and essentially summarizing many of the documentaries in this collection. Its creators methodically analyze the process of the emergence of new strains; answer why this usually happens in poor countries and how some infections spread through animals. You will also learn about how vaccines are developed. The series has been created since 2018, and its authors and heroes repeated the same idea: a new pandemic will soon happen, and the world is not ready for it.

2. American Experience: Influenza 1918

USA, 1998.
Documentary.
Duration: 52 minutes
IMDb: 7, 9.

The history of the spread of the coronavirus is often compared to the events of a century ago. Then in a world that had not yet recovered from the First World War, the Spanish flu epidemic was raging. An episode of the cult documentary series "American Adventure" is dedicated to her.

Together with the soldiers returning home, the Spanish woman spread across the planet faster than any war. According to various estimates, 1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus) killed more than 50 million people from it, in America the virus claimed the lives of 600,000 people. Despite the fact that then various security measures were also introduced, the authorities did not dare to declare a centralized quarantine in the country, and the scientists were unable to develop a vaccine.

3. We Heard the Bells: the Influenza of 1918

USA, 2010.
Documentary.
Duration: 57 minutes
IMDb: 7, 5.

This film is also about the infamous 1918 epidemic. But this is not an attempt to recreate the events of a century ago, but rather a desire to reflect them. The main characters are old people from different parts of the United States, who, as children, witnessed the spread of the disease. They recall how they did not believe that the Spaniard would touch them, how they faced the death of loved ones and friends, how they were sick themselves - and after that they experienced a prejudiced attitude for a long time, because other people were afraid that those who had been ill would infect them too. According to many heroes of the film, the events of those years became the most terrible memories in life.

4. A month in Wuhan

China, 2020.
Documentary.
Duration: 33 minutes
IMDb: 7, 7.

A documentary project about life in the notorious city of Wuhan during its complete isolation. At the beginning of 2020, 11 million people were left on their own at the epicenter of the spread of the coronavirus. The main characters are doctors, officials and ordinary townspeople who were able to organize themselves in the face of illness.

Today we know that the borders of the city are open again and the danger has passed, so now the film looks already with relief. Therefore, first of all, this is a movie about how the virus can really be dealt with and that the personal contribution of each is important for the common cause.

5. How to survive the plague

USA, 2012.
Documentary.
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 6.

Contrary to the title, this film is not a manual on what to do in the event of a Black Death pandemic. We are talking about HIV and AIDS - diseases about which until a certain time they preferred to remain silent - and somewhere they are silent today.

The place of action is the USA, New York, in the courtyard of the 80s. Treatment of HIV infection costs fabulous money, homophobia is rampant in the country, and the government turns a blind eye to people's problems. The main characters are the founders of the civil societies ACT UP and TAG. Their goal is to inform people about HIV infection, as well as financial and informational support for patients and protection of their rights. Activists talk about the difficulties they have faced over the past 30 years, what they have achieved and what tasks they face today.

6. Fire in the blood

India, 2013.
Documentary.
Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 7.

If the treatment of people infected with HIV in America is a difficult but solvable problem, then in African countries it is almost impossible. The fact is that many pharmaceutical giants refuse to voluntarily supply the medicines necessary for antiretroviral therapy to poor countries. Because of this, dozens of people die every day without the opportunity to receive treatment. The main characters of the film are volunteers, doctors and lawyers who fight for equal rights for patients and affordable medicines for people around the world.

7. Why Do Viruses Kill?

UK, 2010.
Documentary.
Duration: 50 minutes
IMDb: 7, 7.

Of all the projects on the list, this one is perhaps the least optimistic. The film was released 10 years ago after the swine flu pandemic, which killed about 18,000 people in Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 112. At the same time, it became obvious that we are still powerless in front of some of the creatures of nature and that modern science does not fully know the mechanisms of the emergence of new strains. "Why do viruses kill?" introduces us to the device of viruses and answers the question of why even today scientists cannot stop their spread in time.

8. Hero with a Thousand Faces

USA, 2016.
Documentary.
Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 8.

From 2014 to 2016, a disease raged in West Africa, killing more than 11,000 people with EBOLA SITUATION REPORT. But this film is not about how quickly Ebola destroys a person from the inside, but about the people who are fighting the epidemic. The filmmakers heading to Sierra Leone are focused on doctors and volunteers risking their lives.

9. Mosquitoes

Mosquito

USA, 2017.
Documentary.
Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 9.

When talking about Ebola and other viral diseases, one cannot help but talk about other human enemies. We have long been accustomed to them and often do not even take them seriously, but they very often carry deadly infectious diseases. That's right, we're talking about mosquitoes. The film contains a fascinating and consistent story about how these seemingly harmless insects reproduce, what they feed on and what global epidemics are responsible. The voiceover, by the way, belongs to Jeremy Renner.

10. Coronavirus: Explained

USA, 2020.
Documentary.
Duration: 1 season.
IMDb: 7, 8.

The most current project on the list. This is the new season of the documentary series Explained, whose authors in half-hour videos answer complex questions about health, sex, politics and economics in simple language. One of last season's episodes was devoted to epidemics - in which Bill Gates and a team of visiting doctors discussed the likelihood of another pandemic in the world in the next decade. Alas, their predictions came true even faster.

This visionary episode has been turned into a full-fledged three-part miniseries. Its authors (voice of the narrator - J. K. Simmons) explain how the COVID-19 virus appeared, how we fight it and what will happen to the world next. The creators are also trying to answer the most pressing question: why of all the viruses known to science, it was this one that caused a pandemic, the likes of which people have not seen for over a century.