Today is World AIDS Day.  Around the world, millions of people are gathering for events, rallies, fundraisers, and other activities to educate people about HIV/AIDS, to remember those we have lost to the disease and to advocate for more equitable access to resources for those who are infected and/or are in need.

This World AIDS Day, in collaboration with several partners - SnagFilms, Americans for Informed Democracy and Representative Jim McDermott’s office - we are harnessing the power of technology and the art of storytelling to engage new audiences in a conversation about the impact of HIV/AIDS on the African continent...completely online.

By visiting http://www.SnagFilms.com, you can view a free, online screening of “We Will Not Die Like Dogs”, a one-hour documentary film I directed that profiles AIDS activists from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia.  Originally broadcasted this summer on PBS via the new National Black Programming Consortium television series, “AfroPop”, the film offers honest and provocative testimonies of individuals who are fighting on the frontlines of the epidemic everyday, including two HIV-positive women fighting stigma and discrimination, a doctor working to care for HIV-infected children in rural villages, and a reggae artist using his status among youth and the media to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS.

After watching the film, you can join hundreds of students nationwide who will tune into a live webcast (8pm EST at http://live.yahoo.com/aidemocracy) about “The Feminization of AIDS” hosted by Americans for Informed Democracy which empowers and equips young people in the United States to address global issues-poverty, health, climate change, peace and security-through awareness raising and actions that promote just and sustainable solutions on their campuses, in their communities, and nationally.  You can also read blog posts by myself, the two doctors who started the project and a dear AIDS advocate and ally in Congress, Representative Jim McDermott.

We, as filmmakers and advocates, believe that change begins with consciousness and film is a powerful medium to broaden people’s perspectives, particularly in places so geographically and culturally different than ours.  So we encourage you to share the film and our resources with your family, friends and colleagues.  You can post the film on your Facebooks, MySpaces, etc.  Remember its all free!

I want to conclude with a quote from a former mentor of mine who greatly inspired me to do the work I do - Jonathan Mann - and whom the world tragically lost in the Swiss Air crash in 1998.  I dedicate this screening in honor of him.

“And when the history of AIDS and of our time is written, this may well be our most important contribution:  that we resisted the temptation to be lulled into complacency, that we chose instead to prevail by expressing through our work, our belief - our spiritual connection - that our lives have meaning, that we are connected to each other and within a larger world, that we can make a difference and, ultimately, that we are all worthy - and equal - carriers of the spark of life itself.”—Jonathan Mann, Speech, International Conference on AIDS, 1994

Thanks as always for your support and please feel free to forward.

Lisa

Lisa Russell
Producer/Director
GOVERNESS FILMS
http://www.governessfilms.com