Pedro

The film opens in 1994 with Pedro Zamora in a New York City hotel room, preparing for a CBS appearance. He is disoriented and cannot recall who is calling. Hotel security finds him unconscious on the floor, signaling a sudden medical crisis.

A flashback shows Zamora in Miami at age 21, after emigrating from Cuba, filming an audition tape for MTV. He is interviewed by producers and is cast on The Real World: San Francisco, insisting he will not change his name or hide his HIV status.

Zamora moves into the Real World house in San Francisco and begins to form relationships with his new housemates, setting the stage for the season’s drama and advocacy.

He tells the others about his HIV status by showing a scrapbook about AIDS education, prompting mixed reactions among the housemates as they adjust to his truth.

Housemate Judd Rainey’s derogatory jokes threaten group harmony, and Zamora threatens to move out. The cast ultimately evicts Rainey to preserve the household’s dynamics.

Zamora continues to speak publicly about AIDS, facing protesters while his health declines. Even as pressure mounts, Zamora insists the filming continues through the end of the series.

In 1994, Zamora is taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York while unconscious, and his sister Mily arrives to be by his side. He refuses to remove the ankle bracelet that binds him to his life and identity.

A flashback recounts Zamora as a child in Cuba, where a Santería priest ties a flower and a chain to his ankle. The story also recalls the family’s split during the Mariel Boat Lift that brought them to the United States.

The Zamora family settles in Miami, and Zamora’s mother dies of cancer when he is 13. The loss motivates him to pursue medicine and to become an AIDS educator.

As a teenager, Zamora discovers he is HIV-positive after volunteering at a high school blood drive. He experiences denial and illness (including shingles), which ultimately fuels his commitment to education and activism.

Zamora meets his future partner, Sean Sasser, at a gay and lesbian march in Washington, D.C. The two begin a relationship that develops as Zamora later moves to San Francisco.

Zamora and Sasser grow closer, move to San Francisco, and exchange wedding vows in the Real World house, a landmark moment for LGBTQ visibility on television.

In 1994 Zamora undergoes a brain biopsy as doctors treat his illness. His sister remains hopeful about more TV appearances, but Zamora decides not to pursue further public appearances, even as a production proposal continues. President Bill Clinton later calls to thank him and helps reunite his Cuban- based family.

Pedro Zamora dies on November 11, 1994, leaving a lasting impact on AIDS activism and LGBTQ representation. The film closes with footage of his Real World wedding and updates on what happened to the other participants in his story.