UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
13 Jul
2011
Raising Awareness through film at this year's Doku Fest
This year UNAIDS will participate in the 10th annual Prizren “Doku Fest” from July 23rd to the 31st. The International Documentary and Short Film Festival, commonly referred to as “Doku Fest,” brings together film makers from across Kosovo, the region and the world for more than a week of screenings.
During the festival, mostly attended by youth, UNAIDS will screen films focused on raising awareness on HIV/AIDS as part of its project “Reducing HIV vulnerability among youth in Kosovo.” Four short award winning movies directed by Kosovar youth on HIV will be presented, each followed by a panel discussion.
Aliriza Arenliu, Doku Fest’s Executive Director, says the partnership with UNAIDS is a win-win for all.
“Screening the films at the festival is a great opportunity to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and promote young filmmakers in Kosovo because they were made by youth below the age of 18,” he says.
Approximately 12.000 persons attended the Doku Fest last year, many of whom were young people, making it a great platform to reach youth according to Yilka Pilana from the Office of the UN Development Coordinator in Pristina.
Arenliu expects that this year the number of visitors will be even higher.
“Each year we are growing in terms of number of spectators, number of films, and the quality of films.”
At the festival films are screened twice a day in three open air cinemas as well as in two regular cinemas. In addition to film screenings, the festival features workshops, DokuPhoto exhibitions, and concerts.
Following the screenings of the four films on HIV, Arenliu says there will be a mini debate with the filmmakers and HIV/AIDS experts.
The UNAIDS presence will also involve UNVs distributing T-shirts, cards and bookmarks with the slogan “I live healthy” and other HIV awareness slogans in English, Albanian and Serbian.
