World AIDS Day Film Screening: “How To Tell A Secret”

Global Health Film Days and Cinemateket are hosting a screening of How To Tell A Secret on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2023.

From the start of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, ignorance and misinformation led to the stigmatization and further marginalization of individuals who tested positive for HIV. Despite modern-day access to medications that keep individuals non-detectable, prevent transmission, and allow many to live a fulfilling, joyful life, people with HIV still face major challenges when disclosing their status to others.

In the 2022 film How To Tell Secret, the main character Robbie Lawlor is a young man and activist from Ireland who tested positive for HIV over a decade ago. Since his diagnosis, Lawlor has challenged the ascribed notion of secrecy by being publicly open about his HIV+ status and empowering others to do the same. The film explores how stigma, secrecy, and advocacy play a role in disclosing or not disclosing status in contemporary Ireland.

This event intends to promote an open conversation about the historical and modern-day stigmatization surrounding an HIV diagnosis and highlight the ongoing efforts and activism of those working to change it. After the screening, a panel will discuss the topics from the film as well as ongoing activities to end the stigma around HIV/AIDS. The panel will explore how the HIV pandemic can look different regarding the cultural, social, economic, and political contexts as well as focus on post-COVID-19 barriers to HIV research, funding, and accessibility.

The event will be in English.

Panel:
Lena Skovgaard Andersen, Assistant Professor and Director of the School of Global Health, University of Copenhagen
Kim Eluf Fischer Nielsen, Chairperson for AIDS-linjen
Michael Nebeling Petersen, Associate Professor, Principal Investigator of the research project ‘The cultural history of AIDS in Denmark’, University of Copenhagen

Programme:
16.45 Welcome
16.55 Film screening How To Tell A Secret
18.35 Drinks in Asta Bar
18.40 Panel in Asta Bar
19.15 Thank you