Blood is a profitable resource for villagers in China. According to a government initiative, since the 1990s rural residents have received 45 yuan in exchange for blood. This income equals a month of work—an attractive offer in the most impoverished areas. However, the side effect of the bargain has been mortal: infected equipment and transfusions have spread HIV and many were infected, such as 300,000 in the central province of Henan. This disturbing fact is stated right away in the documentary Ximei. Its title refers to the woman who brings the individual human drama front and center.

Human rights activist and protector of friends and neighbors, the always smiling Liu Ximei leaves an indelible mark. An adopted daughter, Ximei was severely injured in a farming accident when she was 10 years old. Blood transfusions were required, and she contracted the disease as a result. Now in her 30s, Ximei has lived almost her entire life with AIDS in Henan, which has meant long stays in hospitals and the challenge of finding a place to live, which is even more difficult in a society that routinely rejects those with the disease. These hardships haven’t stopped her from seeking help for others besides herself and participating in protests.

The filmmakers meet Ximei in a moment when she has a place to live, which also serves as a shelter to many others who carry the virus. One of the key fights in her everyday life is against local government efforts to evict her. Some of her daily activities include visiting the sick in their homes, taking them to hospitals, and vocally pointing out when something is wrong. She speaks in the name of people who don’t dare to or are too weak. When Ximei enters a room in the hospital, she takes note of the conditions and expresses discomfort if a patient doesn’t get attention or the right medication. (To obtain medical supplies is a key problem. The government only provides partial reimbursement, after patients fill out discouraging paperwork.)

Ximei affirms openly that she wants to set an example for others, aware that she will not always have stable health. A counterweight to Ximei’s unshakable optimism, the film additionally tracks the gradual deterioration of Yang Zhenglan, one of her best friends. At first, she is almost as cheerful as Ximei. Months later she cannot walk without the help of a stick, and finally her life depends on a respiratory machine. During that time, Zhenglan awaits a reimbursement that never comes.

Ximei becomes a threat to the government after traveling outside China to reunite with members of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS in Geneva. The government seems more concerned about the country’s bad image that Ximei is revealing than in solving problems. The cruel indifference from the government is notorious in every aspect of this situation. For the filmmakers, to finish making the film becomes a half-clandestine act.

Ximei is more often than not a first-person tale with a charismatic protagonist with an unbreakable spirit. Directors Andy Cohen and Gaylen Ross also make room for small anecdotes from different voices among Ximei’s acquaintances, and the result is a reliable and painstaking report about an unbearable situation that demands immediate actions. This is an example of art as a weapon of truth.