ALL OF US
Directed by Emily Abt
Produced by Abt & Reva Goldberg
Released by Pureland Pictures
USA. 82 min. Not Rated
 

If you think the frightening escalation of HIV cases among young black women is a problem relegated to African nations, think again. Director Emily Abt deftly details the tragedy of black American women who are disproportionally impacted by HIV and AIDS 25 years after the disease was first diagnosed in America.

She follows Harvard educated physician Mehret Mandefro as she embarks on a research project in the South Bronx to identify the underlying causes of the virus in African-American women. We meet two resilient patients: Chevelle and Tara. Watching drawn out, but pathos-filled interviews, we learn Chevelle that was abandoned by her family as a teenager. She became addicted to drugs and dependent on sex to for cash. Tara suffered sexual abuse for much of her life and also resorted to prostitution to survive. Both women identify factors that put them at risk: they deferred to men in the sexual arena, not insisting on condom use. It’s a problem Dr. Mandefro identifies as one pattern contributing to the spread of HIV.

A bitter irony surfaces when the young doctor, a gorgeous woman of Ethiopian decent, is seduced by a boyfriend and engages in risky behavior herself—unprotected sex with a man outside a committed, monogamous relationship. The lapse in judgment underscores the universal vulnerability of women when they put sex before health.

There is power in the simplicity of following one doctor in her quest for answers. Dr. Mandefro purposefully trudges the street of the South Bronx making house calls with the missionary zeal of a small-town doctor. The digitally shot cinematography, although sometimes a bit clumsy, and sparse use of music mesh with the earthy tone of the research. Throughout, the adage, a picture’s worth a thousand words, holds true. You will likely feel a lump in your throat as Tara wipes away tears. But more than that, the messages of sisterhood and courage come through loud and clear. Don’t be apathetic about the issue and put off seeing this worthy and galvanizing documentary. Elisa Klein
September 19, 2008