Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2008
Student director and HIV/AIDS expert Dr. Philip Berger in attendance
Toronto - A gala screening of the student-made documentary "PIAF: An Islander's Call" will be held on Monday, January 28 at the Steam Whistle Brewery. The documentary highlights the work of the work of the organization's founder, Maire Bopp, who is HIV positive and started PIAF as a way to make positive changes for people living with HIV/AIDS.
The film was directed by second-year law student Bryan Friedman during his International Human Rights (IHRP) summer internship with the organization. All funds raised at the event will go to the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation, and toward sponsoring law students working on similar projects.
The Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation is the only NGO supporting people living with HIV/AIDS in the region, despite the increasing prevalence of the virus. The Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation works to de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS in the community and has a growing legal clinic where people living with HIV/AIDS can seek recourse for discrimination and plan their estates
AIDS/HIV expert Dr. Philip Berger will be speaking on his work with people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. There will also be an auction of artwork by Toronto artists.
The LIFT Project (Legal Initiatives for Tomorrow) was founded in January 2005 by
U of T law students in response to the December, 2004 tsunami that devastated South Asia. LIFT's mission is to draw attention to the human rights issues within humanitarian crises and to give law students the opportunity to use their skills to assist human rights organizations in the developing world.
Local firms Cassels Brock Lawyers, Blaney McMurtry Barristers and Solicitors LLP, Fraser Milner Casgrain, Blakes, Borden Ladner Gervais, Torys LP and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP have generously supported the LIFT initiative.
What: Gala Screening, "PIAF: An Islander's Call"
When: Monday, January 28, 2008, 7:00 p.m
Where: Steam Whistle Brewery, 255 Bremner Blvd.
For more information, please contact:
Laura Rosen Cohen, Communications Officer
Faculty of Law
(416) 946-5722
laura.rosencohen@utoronto.ca
OR:
theliftproject@gmail.com
