Ed Koch Reviewed "How to Survive a Plague" As If "It Had Nothing to Do With Him"

In this interview with The Hot Button, "How to Survive a Plague" filmmaker David France talks about former New York Mayor Ed Koch's reaction to the movie, as he reviewed the documentary for a small weekly newspaper. Koch, who died on Friday, was criticized for his inaction as the AIDS crisis escalated in Manhattan in the early 1980s and, as France notes, he even called for the arrest of protesters that he later said should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Included among them is Larry Kramer, who Koch had a restraining order against.

Koch reviewed the film "as though it had nothing to do with him," France says, adding that it is a reflection of the reconciliation that is taking place between leaders of the era and activists of that period.