Society

Chinese HIV/AIDS documentary to screen at Berlin

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-01 06:46

BEIJING - A Chinese documentary about discrimination against HIV/AIDS sufferers has been invited to screen at the Berlin International Film Festival, China's Ministry of Health said Monday.

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"Together" was the only Chinese film to screen at the festival, which runs from February 10 to 20, said a statement of the ministry.

The documentary would feature in the Panorama section of the Berlinale's film program. No Chinese-language films are candidates in the Competition section, where major international films are shown.

Director Gu Changwei and producer Zhao Liang were moved to make the documentary while shooting another HIV/AIDS awareness film, "A Tale of Magic," on which people living with HIV/AIDS had worked.

The documentary recorded how the six people with HIV/AIDS were found and persuaded to take part in shooting "A Tale of Magic."

Three of them agreed to reveal their identities on screen in the documentary, including 12-year-old boy Hu Zetao, who also played a leading role in "A Tale of Magic".

The documentary, which was released in China on December 1 last year, World AIDS Day, would help raise HIV/AIDS awareness in China and change public discrimination against HIV/AIDS, said the statement.