On the World AIDS Day, on December 1st, “35 mm” Cinema in collaboration with Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) held the charity demonstration of the film “Today I woke up.”

The event aimed to change the attitude of Russian society towards HIV/AIDS and, in particularly, to promote tolerate attitude towards people living with HIV. The event took place in “35 mm” Cinema (Pokrovka street, 47).

American writer Susan Sontag said, “AIDS is a relatively new disease, but the human reactions it elicits are as old as mankind.” This film aims to change the people’s attitude towards this problem. Discrimination, misunderstanding, myths, social and economic problems, surrounding the HIV epidemic, are the main topic of the work which consists of a number of short stories. The film was directed by the famous Argentinean creator Darío Lanis.

The film made in 2006 in the framework of the Global Media AIDS Initiative got the gold medal of the New York Festivals in 2008 for the best creative communicational solution in public health.

The event was organized for a charitable purpose. It was held in the framework of all-Russia information campaign “StopSPID: Affects Everyone”, coordinated by the Russian Media Partnership Against AIDS. StopSPID campaign aims to enhance the awareness of Russians of HIV/AIDS problem. It embraces all communication channels: TV, radio, printed media, outdoor advertisement, cinemas, integration of HIV/AIDS theme in information, analytical and entertainment programs, as well as information resources and special projects.