World AIDS Day: ‘Growing Up Positive’ Talks Race and Living with the Disease

An estimated 34 million people throughout the world are currently living with HIV, and over 35 million have died—making the virus one of the most destructive in history, according to WorldAidsDay.org. To heighten awareness of HIV and AIDS, World AIDS Day started in 1998 and has since taken place every year on December 1. The day is all about uniting us in combatting the disease, and remembering those who have died from it.

Writer/Director and Executive Producer Yasmin Shiraz is one of many ready and armed to join the fight against HIV and AIDS. Right in time for World AIDS Day, Shiraz is wrapping the production for Growing Up Positve, a film about

HIV/AIDS as it relates to race. The film offers a personal take to those affected by the viruses, as two activists, Hydeia Broadbent and Abigail Harrigan, talk their journeys “growing up positive.”

Check out video below:

Yasmin says, “The goal of Growing Up Positive is to give a glimpse of how people born with HIV/AIDS are going through

puberty, their first relationships, gaining acceptance, as well as how race impacts their experiences. The film shows two women, one black and one white, and though they were both born with the disease, there are stark differences in their stories which underscore issues of race.”

In support of those affected by HIV/AIDS, show your support this Worlds AIDS Day on December 1. Get tested and donate to the World’s AIDS Day Campaign

. Check out the official trailer for Growing Up Positive below. The film will be promoted at film festivals, colleges and HIV/AIDS organizations throughout the country. Check out Still Eye Rise Media to learn more. Here’s to unity and finding a cure!