The cover of the magazine Vangardist was printed with ink mixed with HIV+ blood. (Photo : Vangardist)
China just publicised a movie on HIV/AIDS anti-discrimination. This is the first of its kind in the country.
China marketed a breakthrough movie called the "The One Who Loves You" in Guangzi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 5. The movie was a product of the collaboration between the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS and China's AIDS Prevention Office.
In a country where people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS are more likely to be stigmatized than offered the help they need, the movie can be considered a breakthrough. The movie calls for more attention on the plight of those with the condition and dispel the misconceptions with regard those with HIV/AIDS.
People, particularly the youth, are called to be more compassionate and caring toward HIV-infected children. The movie is first shown in Guangxi University. Local college students were invited to watch the premiere screening.
"The One Who Loves You" centers around the life of a girl named Dujuan. The major scenes of the movie showed the girl struggling with the conception that she has been infected with HIV/AIDS after she has been raped, even though she did not get tested. Soon, her friends and relatives started to avoid her, showing the stigma that people with HIV/AIDS often suffer from.
Dujuan would volunteer to help children who got tested positive for HIV in a rural school, and would continue to do so even if she found out through testing that she does not have HIV after all.
Chen Xiang, a director from Film Art Center associated with the China Youth Development Service Center, attended the debut screening and introduced the film.
"The film took as long as five years for its full completion. It drew on the resources from our real lives; the film can touch many people's hearts while revealing the status quo of HIV prevalence in China," said Chen.
"Moreover, the film gives a full overview about knowledge on AIDS prevention and treatment so as to eliminate people's horror and prejudices toward those living with HIV," added Chen.
The movie's main goal is to correct people's misconceptions of the disease and to provide those with the condition the right attention and care they need.
"So far, HIV is a kind of incurable and chronic disease, but it is not a dangerous one. Putting people's, especially youth's, idea of HIV onto the right track is our ultimate goal, which could help the local clinics promote HIV prevention and assist more youth to conduct themselves properly," said local official Pan Hongquan.
