 |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
 |
| USAID Information:
External Links:
|
|
|
|
|
Nepali Filmmakers Win Chance to Dramatize AIDS Threat
FrontLines - April 2009
Actors and crew work on a movie in Nepal. Bhok, one of the eight films created in a competition backed by USAID, depicts the plight of a wife who suffers because her husband, a migrant worker, is careless with his sexual behaviors.
|
Kathmandu, Nepal—A young Nepali boy working as a truck driver’s assistant admires his boss’s lifestyle. But when the boss contracts HIV through promiscuity, the boy loses his job and changes his opinion about his earlier aspirations.
This is the plot of one of eight films selected to promote HIV/AIDS awareness following a competition
sponsored by USAID.
Nepal’s HIV epidemic is concentrated
in groups such as: drug users; female sex workers (prostitutes)
and their clients; men who have sex with men; and men who migrate for work, especially to India, and may pay to have sex. Many of these people do not have the information they need to protect
themselves from HIV/AIDS; many believe they are invulnerable
to the disease.
In fall 2008, the eight films were shown in over 150 movie theaters across the country, as well as through “Cinema on Wheels,” a mobile film exhibition
that visited 22 districts along Nepal’s east-west highway,
reaching thousands of soldiers,
police recruits, truck drivers,
and others. The movies were also screened in several schools and colleges in Kathmandu, allowing youth to provide feedback
and ask questions. 
Films promoting HIV/AIDS awareness have aired across Nepal following
a USAID competition.
|
The film competition was part of the media campaign “You Are No Exception,” which invited emerging Nepali film directors to submit creative concepts for eight- to nine-minute short films. The selected nine directors produced
eight short films in Nepali and regional languages. Each filmmaker had the opportunity to work with an established professional
actor, who played a key part in the movies.
Popular Nepali actress Melina Manandhar was among the celebrities
who volunteered. “I play the role of a radio jockey who interviews
celebrities and responds to audience queries on HIV/AIDS,” she said. “Since our small contribution
to this awareness campaign
can make a difference, we would surely want to help.”
The films portray the stories of everyday Nepalis affected by HIV/AIDS—from migrant workers
and their wives in the far west to the youth of Kathmandu. The stories are told with simplicity and realism, and avoid the dramatization
and melancholy with which HIV/AIDS is often portrayed—
making the movies engaging and accessible to the average person.
“HIV/AIDS is more than just a disease. The social harassment and stigmatization towards HIV-positive people persists because the average person has still not been able to accept that he or she is not an exception,” said Dovan Rai, the scriptwriter of a film featured
in the competition. “These eight short films will challenge the stigma and discrimination associated
with HIV/AIDS as well as encourage people to protect themselves
from this deadly infection.”
The campaign culminated with an Academy Awards-style ceremony that aired live on two popular local television stations. Directors of the top three winning
films received scholarships to study at Indian film schools.
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
To have FrontLines delivered
to you via postal mail, please subscribe.
Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
To view PDF files, download
the Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Back to Top ^
|
