Description

Love and sex can mean life or death

ALL OF US is a documentary that investigates the social factors that put African American women at the greatest risk for HIV/AIDS. This timely film also exposes the common power struggle that women across boundaries race, class and country face every night in the bedroom.

ALL OF US is about HIV/AIDS but it is not a tragedy. It is a story of resilience, sisterhood and courage.

In the South Bronx, a young doctor embarks on a research project to find out why black women are being infected with the HIV virus at an alarming rate. Dr. Mehret Mandefro takes us into the lives and relationships of two of her female patients, Chevelle and Tara, as they identify and struggle with the social factors that put them at risk.

Chevelle, abandoned by her family as a teenager, became addicted to drugs and dependent on sex with men to get attention and cash. When we meet her, she's been clean for a year and is striving for financial independence. Tara suffered sexual abuse for much of her life and resorted to sex work to survive. Her current boyfriend is pressuring her for sex even though she is undergoing a series of invasive surgeries for cervical cancer. Despite her frail condition, Tara works to overcome her fear of saying no and gains new confidence along the way.

As Chevelle and Tara strive for more power in their lives and relationships, Mehret expands her research to include women across boundaries of race, class and country. She also begins to grapple with these extremely personal themes as they appear in her own life. A visit to Ethiopia, her birthplace, and candid conversations with her privileged girlfriends in New York, yield a startling realization: heterosexual women across the continents face a dangerous power imbalance in the bedroom. When she lets her hair down, steps out of her doctor's role, and confesses her own weaknesses, even this Harvard trained physician sounds just like one of us.

Personal home video use only, not for school use or public group screenings of a paying or non-paying nature. Please note that our DVDs feature an announcement at the start of the film that describes its intended use.

Festivals

NOW PLAYING ON THE SHOWTIME NETWORK!
International Aids Conference in Mexico City
American Sociological Association Conference
Cleveland International Film Festival
Palm Beach International Film Festival
San Francisco Black Film Festival
New York International Latino Film Festival
Urbanworld International Film Festival
Global Peace Film Festival
Women & Courage Conference

Production Credits & Notes

Emily Abt - Director and Camera
Reva Goldberg - Producer and Sound
Geeta Gandbhir - Editor
Sarah Cullen & Valerie Burgher - Associate Producers