“It keeps drawing my attention to that Most news programs still confuse HIV and AIDS, and do not differentiate between the two.“The director, screenwriter and actor acknowledges the misinformation about this virus, and the illness it can cause Eduardo Casanova.
With eight new HIV diagnoses daily In Spain, with a population of about 3,000 people per year, hundreds of thousands of people are currently living with the virus in our country, and it carries around it silence and stigma, even though epidemics like Covid have paralyzed the entire world.
Marking World AIDS Day, December 1Casanova Premiere silencea series that resorts, in a clever way, to that recurring leitmotif in the cinema of the eighties and nineties Linking HIV to vampires. This epidemic, which currently has no cure, despite great scientific progress, continues to affect the entire world, and Spain is not immune to it.
“Silence” is a comedy film depicting the drama of HIV
“There is one thing I insisted on doing, which was the series It was not a booklet or an explanatory series For a social problem. My main training was to make the series fun, however It deals with a very topical topic“Like HIV and the epidemic that is currently not over,” Casanova tells CINEMANÍA. “I wanted people of any ideology or color to understand that it affects absolutely everyone. Doesn’t understand sex or gender. want Make it very clear for me to talk about HIV, which is a disease, It is not a speech or a political position. “HIV and AIDS affect us all.”
Casanova confirms this Gays still retain the fear that destroyed the LGBTBI community in the 1980sAs one of the most affected population groups, when having sexual relations there is always a fear of contracting HIV. This has led to greater respect and prevention, however It doesn’t happen the same way for the rest of society.
“And to this day, The percentage of women infected with AIDS is higher than the percentage of men. HIV is transmitted to many women at the age of 50 or 60, because their husbands have secret relationships with prostitutes, and the number of people infected with this disease increases. HIV among adolescent girls is very high And of course also in heterosexual couples.” Casanova demystifies the virus and the disease Historically associated with the LGBTBI community.
Women are the most affected in recent years
“It seems to me that the vampire metaphor has a lot in common with blood and fluids, especially with… Living hidden in the dark. This is very typical of people living with HIV, with this new wave of com. chemsex (Drug use, linked to sexist culture), where people go to these parties Difficulties with serumophobia itself Because they are forced to have sex in dark places. This keeps these vampires silent and people with HIV or AIDS exposed to discrimination. What is scary here is the silence imposed by society The director adds about this problem.
Casanova also points out: The difference between HIV and Covid, Especially regarding how both viruses are born and their impact on society. “Coronavirus has affected everyone. He came to the king as it happened to you or me. To the rich and the poor. but In its early days, HIV mainly attacked a sector that had to have clandestine sexual relations, Who at that time were gay people, gay men and women. They no longer just carry the Serumophobia Backpack, a new Backpack A disease that appeared in the United States in 1981“But they were also homophobic and homophobic.”
Some organizations like United Nations They continue to fight for society to realize that HIV and AIDS are still widespread among us, and here is why The importance of research into treating it and returning those infected with the virus to normal It’s essential in a world where navel gazing is on the rise.