A documentary and a TV drama produced with support from the Center for Communication (CCP) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health won medals at the 2007 New York Festivals. The Zambia documentary Road to Hope won a Silver World Medal in film and video, and the Pakistan TV show Kaisey Kahoon won a Bronze World Medal in TV programming and promotion. The New York Festivals have recognized the best work in international TV and film productions for nearly 50 years.

Road to Hope explores the realities faced by everyday people living with HIV and AIDS in Zambia. By focusing on these personal stories, the film tries to bring one of the world’s deadliest epidemics down to a personal, intimate scale. Road to Hope will play in health facilities, workplaces and churches across Zambia to stimulate dialogue about HIV/AIDS, anti-retroviral therapy, and care and support for those affected by the epidemic. The Health Communication Partnership/Zambia, the Zambia Ministry of Health, and the National AIDS Council produced the film with financial support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and technical assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Kaisay Kahoon, financed by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, tells the story of two siblings in a middle-class Pakistani family who struggle to find their identities and self-confidence as they, their parents, and grandparents learn to talk openly across generations about tough social issues. As the two siblings find a balance between the traditional and modern, they face the myriad physical, emotional and psychological changes associated with adolescence. The 11-episode drama aired nationally in Pakistan from October 2005 to January 2006. CCP and Xcess Productions produced the program.

The 2007 New York Festivals Awards Gala was held on Friday, February 2. Finalists in both the film and TV categories came from Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

The Health Communication Partnership (HCP) is a global communication initiative based at the Center for Communication Programs in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. HCP partners include the Academy for Educational Development, Save the Children, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation invests in innovative people and organizations to improve the lives of children, enable the creative pursuit of science, advance reproductive health, and conserve and restore earth’s natural systems.