Startling in its thesis, compelling in its argument and chilling in its measured presentation, this award-winning documentary by Peter Chappell and Catherine Peix delves into the possible origins of AIDS in the jungles of Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo). Investigating a theory detailed in journalist Edward Hooper's controversial book The River, THE ORIGINS OF AIDS looks into the possibility that the deadliest disease known to mankind came as a result of a risky, mass inoculation of an experimental polio vaccine during the late 1950s.

This documentary explores a controversial theory. Sundance Channel presents this documentary as a theory, not as a factual account.