Special Screening and Discussion on World AIDS Day with Asha Molock and Mike Brown

-Film Synopsis

Fuel For The Fire: HIV Stigma in the Black Community is a film about resilience and transformation. It tells the inspiring personal stories of people from populations in the Black Community mostly affected by HIV and how their lives were impacted by HIV-related stigma. After going through journeys of self-discoveries, and refusing to live like victims; they found strength in their voices and learned to move on with their lives.

- Filmmaker Bio

Asha Molock graduated from Cheyney University In Pennsylvania with a degree in education and taught in the School District of Philadelphia where she retired after twenty-nine years. Asha became an HIV advocate /activist who saw the need to combat stigma, shame denial and ignorance in her community surrounding the issues of HIV and AIDS. She blogs and speaks to educate and bring awareness about HIV. Asha has appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, POZ, A&U and Positively Aware Magazines and on KYW Channel 3 News, Talk Fuzion TV and WPEB community radio. She also wrote articles that have appeared in the Black AIDS Weekly, TheBody.com and The Westside Gazette. As a person living with HIV for seventeen years, her goal is to help society to come to term with this epidemic by dialoguing more about HIV and AIDS. Asha won a book award from the Association of Black Sexologist and Clinicians for her debut inspirational workbook, Gaining Strength from Weakness: 101 Positive Thoughts for HIV Positive People.

- Film Synopsis

25 TO LIFE is a feature length documentary about William Brawner, a young man who kept his HIV status a secret for over twenty-five years after a blood transfusion at 18-months old. Now, William seeks redemption from his promiscuous and nebulous past, as he embarks on a new phase of life. We watch as he struggles to carve out an open and honest future. 25 TO LIFE is a startlingly fresh look at HIV and AIDS in America. It tackles the tough social issues of sex, race, and manhood. Exploring the pains and triumphs of William’s life and those around him, his story illuminates the ability of the human spirit to rise above devastating circumstances and discover why life is always worth fighting for.

Directed by Mike Brown, Produced by Yvonne M. Shirley, Leah Natasha Thomas, and Khaliah Neal. Executive Producer: Simon Says Entertainment

- Filmmaker Bio

Mike Brown attended Howard University and NYU’s graduate film school where he studied under celebrated filmmakers such as Spike Lee and worked on the documentary When the Levees Broke in New Orleans, Louisiana. Michael also got his start in the entertainment industry working as the personal cameraman for Sean “Diddy” Combs. Mike received support from the Sundance Institute, Firelight Media, Ford Foundation, and Tribeca Film Institute for his directorial debut, the feature documentary 25 To Life (previously on NETFLIX). Mike has also made several short films including Thousand Lights of Sun which premiered on REVOLT TV and The Celebration, a New York State Council on the Arts grant-funded project. Currently, Mike serves as a board member of Bronx Independent Cinema Center and works in media production at Columbia University. Mike believes great filmmaking is a combination of art, intellectual engagement, and entertainment. This philosophy informs his artistic approach. In order to make a compelling film, he employs all cinematic tools to reach the heart, mind, and soul of the audience.