CaixaForum+ and IrsiCaixa present RED, a documentary that weaves connections between science, memory and the future of HIV

More than 40 years after the first cases, HIV continues to write new pages in its history. RED, a new documentary from CaixaForum+, invites you to take a look at them with those who have experienced the epidemic first-hand and those who are working to transform it today. The documentary narrates the extraordinary scientific advances made in these decades, added to personal testimonies and activism. And it does so thanks to the collaboration with IrsiCaixa, a centre jointly promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation and the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which in 30 years has gone from being the first monographic centre on HIV in Spain to becoming an internationally renowned institute of reference in infections and immunity that applies its knowledge to new health challenges.

Directed by Alejandro Marín, Carmen Menéndez and Pol Mansachs, RED is structured in three parts –remembrance, stigma and challenges of the future– and will be available on the CaixaForum+ platform from 1 December, World AIDS Day. The documentary will be premiered on the same day at an event held at CosmoCaixa at 6 p.m. with the screening of the documentary and a round table discussion with the participation of Javier Martínez-Picado, principal investigator of IrsiCaixa and ICREA professor, expert in HIV cure strategies; Julia García Prado, principal investigator of IrsiCaixa and scientific director of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), expert in immunology and vaccines; Sara del Arco, sexologist and family and community health mediator, and Gustavo Pecoraro, writer and LGTBIQ+ activist and the response to HIV.

Understanding to transform the way we look at HIV

"The form of language helped build a stigma that we have not yet deconstructed. Before, there was talk of death, culprits and threats", explains María José Fuster, activist, psychosocial scientist and professor at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), and one of the participants in the documentary. That time when HIV was synonymous with condemnation is a thing of the past: today, thanks to scientific advances, people with HIV can lead long, healthy lives without risk of transmission when the virus is undetectable.

RED invites us to dismantle stigma and stereotypes based on knowledge, sharing rigorous and accessible information. "Working on documentation and sharing experiences with the protagonists made me see the amount of information we do not retain and how important it is to explain it so that the world has an informed and real vision of HIV", reflects Alejandro Marín.

Currently, one pill daily. But how far can we go?

"Although HIV is still a complex virus –capable of attacking the immune system, mutating rapidly and hiding from defences– science has made enormous progress in treatment, prevention and the search for a cure", explains García Prado, scientific voice at RED. Today, treatments keep the virus undetectable and untransmittable, and include new  long-lasting injectable therapies –up to six months– and preventive drugs that improve quality of life, although they do not prevent the increase in comorbidities in people with HIV.

Even so, inequality in access to treatment remains a global reality. According to UNAIDS, 40.8 million people are living with HIV and more than 630,000 died in 2025 from AIDS-related causes. Although about 76% of adults receive antiretroviral therapy, coverage varies widely by region: in Africa many people still face barriers, while in Europe almost 9 out of 10 people diagnosed receive treatment.

"The pending task is to find a cure", adds the director of IrsiCaixa, Bonaventura Clotet, who is also participating in the documentary. RED explores the most promising research: from stem cell transplants to therapeutic vaccines developed in different laboratories around the world.

Looking to the future of infections and immunology

HIV research has generated key knowledge about the immune system, which is essential for tackling new global health challenges. This experience allows us to respond quickly and effectively to pandemics and emerging outbreaks. "Viruses were the first to appear and will probably be the last to leave Earth", Clotet recalls.

What we have learned about the immune response to HIV is now being applied to other infections, such as COVID-19, West Nile virus, Ebola and avian influenza. In recent years, the need for more research into the functioning of the immune system has been detected, as it plays a central role not only in dealing with infections, but also in combating diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer's. For this reason, the "la Caixa" Foundation is promoting the creation of the CaixaResearch Institute, the first research centre in Spain focused on immunology research. As reflected in RED, the creation of this center and the advancement of HIV treatments are hopeful factors for the future of HIV, research, and global health. As Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Nobel Prize in Medicine 2008 for the discovery of HIV and one of the protagonists of the documentary, says, "this research is for those of today, but also for those to come".