A 23-minute gut punch from 1993 that proves HIV never cared about your zip code.
Another sensitive, thoughtful, and elegantly crafted film from home-grown McGee that speaks calmly to us of an alarming truth. Even in outports and relatively small Newfoundland communities, young people are vulnerable to becoming infected with HIV. The story centres on Trudy Parsons who was 20 when she contracted the virus, a young woman with the determination to show others that people like us do get it. The direct and candid way in which trudy and her friends discuss current social and personal views of sexuality makes for another stirring experience that inspires as much as it moves.
Direction
McGee's patient, non-exploitative gaze honors Trudy's agency completely.
Writing
Conversations so candid they still feel dangerously honest today.
Director
Debbie McGee
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Canada's 'Talking Sex' HIV prevention era, when federal funding prioritized community-produced media over glossy campaigns. This IS the grassroots.
Newfoundland's outport communities were specifically targeted in early 90s epidemiology as 'low-prevalence high-vulnerability' zones — Trudy's story was statistically prescient, not exceptional.
CA
