Miss HIV

Della Reese narrates filmmaker Jim Hanon's informative documentary about AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, alternating between the lives of those living with the disease and those who aim to provide treatment. At the 2006 International AIDS Conference, philanthropist Melinda Gates speaks about the stigma of AIDS, which only serves to amplify the tragedy, while former Irish President Mary Robinson of the Ethical Globalization Initiative echoes her thoughts. Kesego Basha-Mupeli explains that she created Botswana's Miss HIV Stigma-Free Pageant to enable women living full lives with AIDS to encourage others to do the same, and contestants talk about the circumstances that led to their participation (one woman's sister died without acknowledging her status and so didn't receive medical support that could have eased her suffering—or saved her life; another defied friends' taunting and entered the competition to “give everyone hope”). Ugandan pastor and activist Dr. Martin Ssempa, on the other hand, who also lost a sibling, believes the pageant “is sexualizing AIDS,” and he seeks to prevent the spread of HIV by promoting abstinence. Other speakers, from physicians to network presidents, disagree with Ssempa's approach, expressing frustration with the faith-based organizations that channel funding into campaigns that have proven ineffective in America (although they've had more of an impact in Uganda and other parts of Africa) and effectively deny resources to IV-drug users, sex workers, and others. It's hard to tell where Hanon's sympathies lie, but he judiciously allows both sides equal opportunity to explain their positions in this thought-provoking documentary. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)