The first quarter of 2012 was largely dedicated to pushing the Graying of AIDS project forward on several fronts, refining what is becoming a shared multi-year endeavor, with the core team consisting of public health project partner Naomi Schegloff and myself.  Several new developments are shaping how we will spend the next few months, growing this campaign beyond anything I could have envisioned when I received the initial support from the Open Society Foundations to create a multi-platform outreach and education campaign for the original Time Magazine reportage.

Wonderful new developments in the evolution of our project involve being granted support from two exemplary independent documentary film organizations: Working Films and Chicken & Egg Pictures.

REEL AGING RESIDENCY: Our acceptance into the transformative Reel Aging: Films for the Generations residency, convened from March 22 – 27, 2012 by Working Films with support from the the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, connected us with a whole new group of inspired and inspiring colleagues. Over the past two years, we have met a remarkable array of people from across disciplines who are concerned about issues related to aging and/or HIV/AIDS, and we are looking forward to forging an ongoing relationship with fellow film makers and documentarians as Working Films guides our collaborative outreach strategies around pressing aging issues that are affecting this country.

CHICKEN & EGG GRANT: We are thrilled to announce that we have been granted a MotherWit / I Believe In You  human rights film grant from Chicken & Egg Pictures, allowing us to begin production on a short documentary film about older women living with HIV/AIDS, an often overlooked segment of the population living with the virus. And while financial support is of course extraordinarily important to any of us working in documentary films, nonprofit arts and social justice endeavors, I Believe In You grants additionally provide mentorship and community-building to foster creative collaboration among women filmmakers.

AIDS2012 INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE: And, finally, we are honored to have been accepted by the XIX International AIDS Conference with our proposal for an interactive portrait installation for the conference’s Global Village public area. AIDS2012, held in Washington DC from July 22-27th, will mark the first time the conference is returning to the US, thanks to the lifting of the travel ban on HIV-positive people. More details about our plans and NGO partners to follow – we are looking forward to being able to share the project with visitors and delegates from around the world, during a historic moment.