The HIV Story Project

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Amir Jaffer

Q: Describe your role & involvement with The HIV Story Project.

AJ: When Marc and Jorg approached me to be a part of this project last summer, I was more than happy to be a part of this ground-breaking project, which commemorates the thirty year anniversary of an epidemic that took the lives of so many in our community. I directed, filmed and edited a short called Blur, featuring Dr. Richard Jones, who survived HIV/AIDS, but lost many of his friends and loved ones.

Q: Why did you decide to participate?

AJ: First and foremost, it was my way of paying an homage to all those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS since the 1980’s. Second, there are some HIV negative men out there who are prejudiced against men who are HIV positive. And as a HIV negative person (so far), I wanted to make a statement in a way, about all of us coming together for those who survived and are living with HIV/AIDS.

Q: What was your goal & vision when you started?

AJ: After Jorg teamed me up with Dr. Richard Jones, we had a couple of meetings to discuss the storytelling style and what to focus on in our short film? Since we were limited to five minutes and Richard had a lot to share, we decided to focus on the time when the epidemic began. And we took a walk down memory lane, which in many ways was over-whelming for Richard. I am grateful to him for sharing photographs of his lovers and friends who lost their lives. After completion, we wanted this to be a moving tribute to all those who lost their battle with HIV/AIDS, and an important piece of history that we wanted to share with the younger generation.

Q: What was the actual experience like?

AJ: It was a very pleasant experience since we planned everything before the shoot. I knew the shots I needed to tell the story and Richard was very patient and co-operative, which made everything a piece of cake.

Q: What do you hope to see for The HIV Story Project in the future?

AJ: I want this project to go beyond the film festival circuit, which I think is confining in this day and age. How many people can you pack in a theater at a given time? What about all those who can’t make it due to time conflict? Therefore, having all the shorts on-line on different viral video sites would have a far reaching effect. Also, making the shorts available for educational purposes across schools, colleges and universities in the United States and abroad would help keep everyone’s focus on a disease we are still fighting against.