Ending AIDS: The Search for a Vaccine

This project uses the medium of film - a 60-minute documentary - to expose filmgoers and television audiences to the history of AIDS vaccine research. Set to air on PBS television stations nationwide (USA) on December 1 and premiering at a variety of events and film festivals around the world, the film explores the initial optimism by biotech firms, signs from Nairobi, Kenya that there are some groups who seem to have remained disease-free even after repeated exposure to the virus, promising results by researchers working with the monkey equivalent of HIV called SIV, and the hurdles that still remain. Click here for a brief preview of the film on the Kikim Media website.

One strategy used in this project is the voice of a well-known (in the USA) celebrity actor, Richard Gere. His involvement in the film as a narrator is meant to engage audiences who are familiar with both his work in entertaining motion pictures and his humanitarian commitments (for background on the latter aspect of his work, see The AARP Magazine.)

In addition to the December 1 television debut, the film is being screened at local events featuring a number of speakers and interactions designed to deepen reflection and discussion on the issues raised in the film. For example, leaders in the scientific, policy, and HIV/AIDS community were expected to attend the Washington, D.C. (USA) premiere of "Ending AIDS" at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) on November 16. It was anticipated that the event would feature remarks by the film's directors (Bill Jersey and Michael Schwarz) as well as representatives from some of the event's co-hosts - the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), and KFF. To cite another example, the film will be screened at the International Conference on AIDS and STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] in Abuja, Nigeria, Dec 5-9 2005.

HIV/AIDS, Immunisation & Vaccines.

Founded in 1996, Kikim Media produces films for broadcast television and the internet, guided by the "abiding conviction that a true story, honestly told, can change people's lives." The organisation claims that "Every day, 15,000 people get infected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. All of them will eventually die. AIDS is the single greatest threat to life on earth. Yet twenty years after HIV was first discovered, there have been only two large-scale trials to test the effectiveness of potential vaccines."

Those interested in details about the November 16 2005 Washington DC (USA) screening (4:30 p.m.) may click here or contact Tiffany Ford at tford@kff.org or (202) 347-5270; RSVP by Monday November 14.