April 6, 2009: IS A WORLD WITHOUT AIDS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK? PDF  | Print |  E-mail
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HOUSE OF NUMBERS ASKS…
IS A WORLD WITHOUT AIDS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK?

Revelatory Documentary to Debut at Nashville and Boston Film Festivals This Month

Nashville, Tenn. – April 6, 2009 - House of Numbers, to debut this month at the
Nashville Film Festival and the Boston International Film Festival, is an AIDS film
like no other. The documentary raises new questions -- presenting global and conflicting
viewpoints from an unprecedented array of over 30 of the most prominent and influential
figures in the field, among them Nobel Laureates, the co-discoverers of HIV, Presidential
advisors, the former Executive Director of UNAIDS, as well as survivors and activists.
To view trailer visit: www.houseofnumbers.com.

The film unveils candid conversations on several key points: Why does the definition of
AIDS change from country to country and over time? Why do esteemed scientists debate
over the HIV virus? Are HIV tests reliable globally? Are the worldwide statistics correct?
What are the dangers of the drug treatments? 

Perhaps one of the most revelatory parts of the film is an interview with Professor Luc
Montagnier MD, 2008 Nobel Prize winner for discovering the HIV virus. He states his
belief that, “we can be exposed to HIV many times without being clinically infected. Our
immune system will get rid of the virus within a few weeks, if you have a good immune
system.” Montagnier adds that he thinks an impoverished person living in Africa or Asia
can clear the virus simply by building up their weakened immune system.

Additional scientists and prominent figures featured in House of Numbers include:
David Baltimore PhD, 1975 Nobel Prize winner; Kenneth Cole, Chairman of AMFAR;
James Curran MD, who began his career with the CDC and held leadership positions for
the CDC’s HIV/AIDs research; Anthony S Fauci, Director of NIAID; Robert Gallo MD,
PhD, co-discoverer of the HIV virus; Michael Gottlieb MD, credited as first doctor to
diagnose AIDS; and Peter Piot MD, PhD, Director of Institute of Global Health and
former Executive Director of UNAIDS.

First-time filmmaker Brent Leung, born in 1980, grew up as part of the “AIDS
generation” – he’s never known a world without it.  Yet with all of its notoriety, he
realized the average person did not know that much about HIV and AIDS. What began as
a 15-minute film project built around the simple question “What is HIV/AIDS?” revealed
itself to be a much deeper journey. House of Numbers became a multi-faceted project
that took him across five continents.

“At journey’s end I find myself perplexed, bewildered at times and with an overall
feeling of sadness and dismay,” says Leung. “I found a research community in disarray
over the most fundamental understanding of HIV – all the while presenting a monolithic
public posture of authority and certainty.”


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