Synopsis of the documentary:  this documentary tells a real story about Gao Jun, a person born with AIDS. After his parents died of AIDS, his grandmother, the only care giver he has left. His uncles feared being discriminated against by his neighbourhood, and refused to adopt him. Later With the help of Fuyang AIDS Orphan Salvation Association, he was adopted by an AIDS-affected family and began his short but happy childhood. However, he had to leave again as the HIV virus deteriorated him quickly… Nan Nan and Huang Siblings were also children affected by HIV/AIDS. You can find the poverty and inability of the family in this film, the coldness and impotence, the ostracism and innocence of people around and the terror and helplessness of themselves…finally with the support of people from all walks of life, Gao Jun got rid of the effects of his disease and started to live happily, confidently and comfortably.

It took over one year to make the film as they followed the families affected by AIDS in Yingzhou District of Fuyang City, Anhui Province and kept a detailed record of the AIDS-affected orphans’ life.

How the story started:

About ten years ago before the film was produced, Dr. Eric Xu, the founder of Yifang Foundation, had met Ruby Yang, the director of the documentary. During 1998-1999, as one of the producers, Eric Xu assembled the team and resources for shooting the 6-session TV documentary Be Close to the Silicon Valley, which was partly written, directed and edited by Ruby Yang. Based on the depth interviews with dozens of old Silicon Valley hands, the documentary objectively and roundly told the stories about the history of Silicon Valley, the culture of entrepreneurship, business management and the mechanism of venture capital investment, which profoundly revealed the secret of Silicon Valley’s success. In Silicon Valley, Dr. Eric Xu was invited several times to introduce the senior government officials from Chinese mainland about the mechanism of venture capital investment and entrepreneurship culture. During the cooperation in producing this documentary, Eric Xu also agreed with Director Ruby Yang on the devotion to philanthropy career. That’s why Eric Xu later provided generous support and helped when Ruby Yang started her artistic philanthropic work.

In 2005, Eric Xu provided Ruby Yang with funding to direct the short documentary The Blood of Yingzhou District, which raised awareness on public health and other social issues in China. This film later won Best Documentary Short Subject in the 79th ACADEMY AWARDS 2006 and several other major international awards, and it raised the comprehensive attention to AIDS patients in China’s society.

Introduction of the director:

Ruby Yang is a senior Chinese American filmmaker. She moved to the US from Hong Kong in 1977, and received her graduate degrees in Drawing and Filmmaking.In the US Ruby Yang worked on a range of films and documentaries as an editor and producer. She even cooperated with many Chinese American film workers, such as Joan Chen and Wayne Wang. Her works received many international awards including Emmy Awards and Golden Horse Prize.

Citizen Hong Kong and China one and two, the two documentaries directed by Ruby Yang, were very famous at home and abroad. In the US they were shown on over 200 public TV channels, and they were displayed numerous times in the US and Europe.

In 2004, along with filmmaker Thomas Lennon, Yang founded the Promotion and Production Project of Prevention of AIDS. Cooperating with the Ministry of Health, Yang planned and made a range of public service announcements and documentaries on how to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. In 2008 the project’s name was changed to Chang Ai Media Project(CAMP), which is dedicated to raising HIV/AIDS awareness in China. Since then, its documentaries and philanthropic messages have been seen by hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers.

With the team of CAMP, Yang made many documentary films, including The Blood of Yingzhou District(2006), Julia’s Story(2005); The Public Service Documentary of Ming Yao and Johnaon and Ming Yao: Fight AIDS and Love Our Children(2005); and The Warriors of Qiugang(2010). Yang also made many public service announcements, including how Ming Yao and Magic Johnson Face up to AIDS(2004); Peng Liyuan: Let’s Fight AIDS Hand in Hand and Love Our Children(2006); Pu Cunxin: To Prevent AIDS and Protect Ourselves(2006); Jackie Chan: Protect Yourself and Love Others(2007); Smoke-free Olympics: Public Service Announcements of Second-hand Cigarettes(2008); Do You Really Know It? Public Service Announcements on AIDS Prevention (2008); Public Service Announcement on How Teenagers Prevent Hepatitis B (2009); and Public Service Announcement on How Migrant Workers Prevent TB (2010).