LOS ANGELES, CA (March 27, 2013)—AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), will premiere its documentary feature “Keep the Promise: The Global Fight Against AIDS” at the 2013 Vail Film Festival set to take place March 28-31 in Vail, Colorado. The 44-minute, color film—executive produced by AHF, and produced by The HIV Story Project, along with Jörg Fockele and Marc Smolowitz who also co-directed—will premiere at a screening on Friday, March 29 at 6:30 pm at the Piney Theater at Four Seasons just following the annual Filmmaker Reception. The film will screen again on Saturday, March 30 at 11:30 am at Cinebistro.
Narrated by Margaret Cho, “Keep The Promise: The Global Fight Against AIDS” is a music/protest documentary that profiles advocates from around the world who attended the “Keep The Promise Rally & March,” that unfolded in Washington, DC during July 2012 as part of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s presence at the 19th International AIDS Conference. A dynamic stage show, rally, and protest march punctuate powerful personal stories of people from all walks of life who have been impacted and affected by HIV/AIDS and have committed to continue the global fight to end the AIDS Crisis
By the end of the film, it is clear that “Keep The Promise: The Global Fight Against AIDS” is an essential document of global AIDS activism at a pivotal turning point. As Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, points out, “Today is the beginning of a new era of AIDS activism across the country and around the world.”
“AHF produced this documentary in response to the unacceptable retreat from the global AIDS fight in this country and globally,” said Terri Ford, Chief of Global Advocacy for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “We marched on Washington last July and we have marched for the South in Atlanta. Just two weeks ago, our South African comrades marched in Durban. We will march to ‘Keep the Promise’ in New York, Kenya and Zambia in April, in Ohio in May and in Texas in June.”
Ford added: “We will not quietly allow the abandonment of people living and dying with HIV/AIDS. They are mothers, they are fathers, sisters and brothers – children. AIDS is still a global health crisis and we hope that the many powerful voices and stories in the film really bring that message to the Vail audience and beyond.”
AHF is a first-time sponsor of the Vail Film Festival and will be hosting the festival’s annual Filmmaker Reception on Friday, March 29th. A screening of the documentary feature will immediately follow. All are invited to participate in a Q&A session with the filmmakers after the film.
As a part of AHF’s promotion of the Vail premiere, AHF hosted an online contest, encouraging its Facebook and Twitter fans to create a :30 or :60 second short film about how AIDS has affected their lives and incorporating the “Keep the promise on AIDS” message. The AHF winner received two VIP Festival passes, 3 nights’ accommodations in a luxury Vail resort, two VIP gift bags and round-trip transportation from the airport in a private Cadillac Escalade. View HIV educator, writer and musician Shawn Decker’s winning AHF Short Film now at: http://bit.ly/YiZ20E.
Learn more about the “Keep the Promise” campaign at: and by following the initiative on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/keepthepromiseonAIDS) and Twitter (@KTPonAIDS).
