A project committed to challenging HIV stigma and increasing the engagement of Latin Americans in HIV prevention approaches and sexual health services in England.
The films
Arthur Britney lives in Liverpool since 2017. They are the first non-binary person granted UK refugee status. Arthur Britney volunteers for Sahir House talking about their story of resilience and embracing their identity in the UK.
Virginia has lived in London for over 17 years. She is a horticulturalist and a garden designer. During her life, she survived cancer and overcame an HIV diagnosis. Virginia currently works at Positively UK and runs a project named 'The Seeds'. The aim of the project is to welcome people living with HIV and, through gardening, improve their wellbeing. She has also been involved in extensive medical research as a patient representative.
Marcos is a hairdresser, massage therapist, and Drag Queen from Brazil. He's lived in London since 2014. Marcos describes “Art” as his way of life and says that the word could easily be his surname. He always strives to incorporate art in his life one way or another. Marcos’ hobbies include get together with friends, gaming, and ice skating. He was diagnosed with HIV in 2012 and has been raising awareness around living with the virus ever since. “Never give up” is Marcos’ ultimate life quote.
Dani is a Master and Doctor in Psychology with an emphasis on Socialization, Gender, Diversity and Migrations. He has experience in university teaching, research and community and clinical work focused on well-being and the promotion of rights from an intersectional perspective, especially of people with Trans life experiences. He has lived in London for 4 years where he has been a volunteer for Metro Charity and IRMO. He currently works as Project Director of Fundacion GAAT - Grupo de Acción y Apoyo de Personas Trans - en Colombia, where he has collaborated with the execution of social projects at the national and Latin American level.
Roberto has been living in London for 6 years. Combining his very own HIV personal experience with his creative background, he decided it was important to spread the sexual heath message through the Latin communities and decided to fund Número de Serie, a project focused on working crossfunctionally to raise awareness on mental health as well as sexual health. During the day, you can find him being a Community Manager for a psychotherapy hub. By night, he enjoys sweating in dark basements.
The project
The project, funded by Public Health England and a collaboration between METRO Charity, NAZ, and Mexican HIV activist and artist, Roberto Tovar, founder of Número de Serie. Together, we have produced five short documentary-style films under the title ‘My Message To You’.
The films feature Latin Americans living with HIV in England and offer viewers a glimpse of what it is like to live with HIV in 2021. In each film, participants describe the challenges that they have faced for living with HIV, as well as how their experience has helped define their sense of self and outlook on life going forward.