PhotoVoice Film Press Release and Review

Press Release

My life with HIV and Neighborhoods of Refuge are films that demonstrate
PhotoVoice, a participatory community-driven qualitative research method applied in real-
life situations. The first film attempts to narrate what it is like to live with HIV from the
perspective of people actually living with HIV and not people with theoretical knowledge of
living with HIV (Florida International University, 2019). The film’s core message is one of
hope: that contracting HIV need not spell doom for anyone. Several of the project
participants demonstrate that it is still possible to lead a normal life even with HIV. They also
show that when one has HIV, having a positive attitude is essential. A case in point is an
HIV-positive participant who considers herself blessed in spite of her condition. The fact that
she can access quality healthcare that makes it possible for her to thrive is something to be
grateful for. She is aware that millions of HIV-positive people worldwide are not as lucky as
she is.
The second film is another story of hope. In this case, thanks to neighborhoods of
refuge like Camillus House, there is hope for more than half a million homeless Americans
(Florida International University, n.d.). Besides providing them with basic necessities like
food, shelter, and healthcare and empowering them to access public services for the
homeless, through PhotoVoice, these spaces allow the homeless to express their deep-seated
emotions.
For anyone interested in learning how they might apply PhotoVoice in real life, these
two films are a must-watch. The films are also a great encouragement for those living with
HIV or struggling with homelessness.

PHOTOVOICE FILM PRESS RELEASE AND REVIEW 3

Film Review

The naming of the first film – My life with HIV – seems like a misnomer to me. Based
on its name or title, I expected the film to be about HIV-positive people sharing their
experiences of living with the condition. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead, the film
is mostly about PhotoVoice as a research method. The second film is more accurate in its
naming; the film is actually about how a neighborhood of refuge is transforming the lives of
the homeless through, among other things, PhotoVoice. Thus, while the second film is quite
successful in the task it attempts, the first one does not.
On the question of whether or not the films have impacts on the issues they address, I
believe both do. Through snippets of the experiences of people living with HIV – even
though narrated by PhotoVoice practitioners rather than the people living with HIV
themselves – we get some insights into what it means to live with the condition. The second
film shares the same weakness: experiences of homelessness are narrated mostly from the
perspectives of people who help the homeless and PhotoVoice practitioners rather than the
homeless themselves. An exception is a narrator who is a former homeless person but is now
involved in helping the homeless through PhotoVoice, among other interventions. Overall,
both films are more about the PhotoVoice method and less about the issues they allude to.

PHOTOVOICE FILM PRESS RELEASE AND REVIEW 4

References

Florida International University. (2019). FIU PhotoVoice Project: My Life with HIV.
Retrieved from Florida International University:
https://online.fiu.edu/videos/?vpvid=8b246a4e-d400-48b1-8010-44dfd39e3207
Florida International University. (n.d.). FIU PhotoVoice Project: Neighborhoods of Refuge.
Retrieved from Florida International University:
https://online.fiu.edu/videos/?vpvid=690ba0dd-eadf-48ef-a2f0-2d43591d3d00