"As powerful and moving a documentary as you will ever see. This one stays with you." - People

In the early 1980's, a mysterious new disease suddenly started killing young gay men in American cities. It wasn't until Rock Hudson's death, in 1985, that the rest of the country began to take notice. Common Threads tells the powerful story of the fist decade of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. - from the first ominous warning signs and the government's failure to respond, to the vibrant protest movement that was born as a result. Starting with five life-stories chosen from the thousands memorialized in the NAME Project AIDS Quilt - the Olympic athlete; the recovering drug addict; the conservative naval commander; the gay street activist; and the 11-year-old suburban boy with hemophilia - the filmmakers skillfully weave intimate memories with contemporary news footage to tall an epic and moving story of love, loss, anger and healing.