Short film in British Sign Language is set to raise awareness of HIV among young people
Short film in British Sign Language is set to raise awareness of HIV among young people
A short film written and co-directed by young people who have grown up living with HIV has launched to raise awareness of HIV among the deaf community.
The film called Paris follows the story of two friends growing up in a children’s home, played by deaf actors. Both characters are deaf and communicate in British Sign Language. One of the friends is growing up living with HIV. When the other friend finds out they are initially negative and express stigma, but through the course of the story they are educated about HIV and change their view.
Paris is produced by Kris Deedigan at My Life productions and was commissioned by the charity Chiva whose mission is to ensure that children, young people and families living with HIV become healthier, happier and more in control of their own futures.
Amanda Ely, CEO at Chiva said, “Deaf children and young people should have the same opportunities as any others to access health information. The young people we work with wanted to ensure that important HIV information is accessible to everyone, including the deaf community. That’s why we’ve produced Paris, which is the first youth-friendly BSL resource to educate about HIV.”
“It’s a thought-provoking film that challenges the stigma that many people living with HIV face and busts some of the myths around how HIV can be passed on. Anyone wishing to follow in the footsteps of Strictly Come Dancing’s Rose Ayling-Ellis will surely also be inspired by the young deaf actors in this film.”
You cannot get HIV from kissing, cuddling, or sharing drinks, plates or toilet seats. People living with HIV who are on effective HIV treatment can live a long, healthy life. If they have an undetectable HIV viral load they cannot transmit the virus to sexual partners. The phrase U=U (undetectable = untransmittable) is now widely used.
For more information about HIV visit: www.chiva.org.uk/hivfacts
Watch the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ1Zp8nizsk&t=2s
