Synopsis

I Hugged The Berlin Patient is a hybrid documentary about a spirited cancer survivor from Singapore, Edgar Tang, who plunges into a spontaneous quest to find Timothy Ray Brown a.k.a. the 'Berlin Patient' — the first person in the world cured of HIV.

With his old friend Dzul Sungit behind the camera, Edgar embarks on a raw and reflective exploration spanning three continents, retracing the medical marvel's life through the city he was named after, his friends, and the doctor who cured him — in hopes that they can eventually meet in person.

But without a clear plan or knowledge of German, Edgar's random mission soon becomes akin to finding a needle in a haystack. As details emerge about Timothy's risky bone-marrow transplants in 2007 that cured him of both HIV and leukemia, Edgar finds parallels to his own recovery from stage III Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during the same period. Armed with his (cancer) survivor's instinct and quirky personality, Edgar fleshes out the next illogical plan to travel farther, just to hug the man.

'I Hugged the Berlin Patient' is a non-profit documentary that supports HIV/AIDS research. It has donated to Action for AIDS Singapore as well as raised awareness for HIV-cure research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre. Previously on Apple TV from 2014 - 2020, the film is now free to watch on YouTube.