Ad of the Day | An AIDS Free Future is Closer than Ever

Mar. 23, 2023

Forty years after the discovery of the AIDS virus, an AIDS-free future is closer than ever. The arrival of the first treatments and, more recently, the reduction in treatment have given great hope to researchers and medical staff. Today, an HIV-positive person on effective treatment no longer transmits the virus.  In 2021, 29% of people in France who discovered their HIV status were in an advanced stage of infection, a figure that is not decreasing.

French NGO, Sidaction, supports people living with HIV by way of fundraising and donations.  The annual Sidaction 2023 weekend - a national event over France including a televised concert featuring a host of national music stars - will take place on March 24, 25 and 26. This year’s new campaign is launched today to encourage people to get involved, to donate and create awareness.

Created by The Good Company and directed by Ludo Gontrand through international production company HAMLET, "Never This Close" highlights how close we are to eradicating HIV and not to give up the fight.

With a cinematic style, "Never this Close" tactfully shows a couple in a state of attraction, they want to get closer, but there is a hesitation, a pause, a space between them.  The threat of HIV and AIDS. They gradually become closer, to touch and show love, illustrating how that space no longer poses danger.

Florence Thune, Sidaction's executive director said:

"The most optimistic among us can already see the light at the end of the tunnel, but make no mistake, we must not relax our efforts. We must intensify the fight for access to treatment worldwide, for scientific research, for sexual health education for young and old, for respect and dignity for people living with HIV. We have never been so close to a world without AIDS, and it is by fighting together that we will achieve this goal".

 

Ludo Gontrand, Director added:

“The biggest challenge with this kind of topic was not to force the idea and the look of the film, despite a somewhat technical setup with motion control and the like, in order to remain intimate and naturalistic.”

 

The TV, print and online campaign will run from 20 March with extra focus during the Sidaction weekend on 24, 25 and 26 March.