New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/23/2009 -- Crucial Arts Productions, Incorporated presents an Encore Presentation of Miss HIV by Jim Hanon at its Monthly Documentary Film Series in celebration of World AIDS DAY 2009.

Miss HIV takes place on Friday, December 11th at 7PM and is a part of the Crucial Arts Monthly Documentary Film Series. We will be joined again by Ms. Rusti Miller-Hill of the Women's HIV Collaborative of New York and members from FACES NY, Inc. (formerly the Minority Task Force on AIDS), the city's oldest non-profit minority AIDS service organization, for our post-screening discussion. All series screenings are on the second Friday of the month at 7PM and are held at the Dwyer Cultural Center, located at 258 Saint Nicholas Avenue (entrance on W. 123rd Street), New York, NY 10027. Ticket Donation is $10 per person and light refreshments will be served at each screening. Please visit www.crucialarts.org to buy tickets, see the trailer, and for more information.

ABOUT THE FILM

Miss HIV
by Jim Hanon (http://www.misshiv.com)

Miss HIV by Jim Hanon explores the international collision of HIV/AIDS policies while following the journey of two HIV-positive women who enter the contest in Botswana. Filmed across Africa and at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto this explosive ethnographic film shares both sides of an ideology struggle. What is happening in Botswana, where half of all pregnant women have HIV, is set against Uganda who has experienced the largest reductions of new infections ever recorded. Unlike any film you've ever seen on AIDS, the story takes you backstage to the Miss HIV pageant and behind the curtain on what is really happening in the war against a virus that is now the leading killer of people under 60 in the world.

ABOUT THE CRUCIAL ARTS MONTHLY DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES
The Crucial Arts Documentary Film Series was created for the purpose of presenting critical issues to the community via the artistry of today's film/video social commentators, our documentary filmmakers. Documentary films have a history of exposing underlying 'truths' that are usually eye-opening, and contrary to common belief. It is our goal to present alternative perspectives to these critical issues.

Our mission is to support, produce, promote and present performance and visual media that celebrate the diverse artists and artistry of people of color. Crucial Arts was incorporated in the state of New York as a Not-For-Profit corporation in 1999 and received its retroactive 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status from the Internal Revenue Service in 2000. Crucial Arts is a Registered Charity in the state of New York.

While our focus is video and film, our activities include, but are not limited to: theatre and film production, digital media and visual art exhibits, fiscal sponsorship, production management and consultation. We support Independent Filmmakers by promoting and hosting screenings of their work, as well as being a non-profit fiscal sponsor for their projects. We believe that independent filmmakers need more exposure, better distribution, and non-profit fiscal sponsors they can use for grants and fundraising.

Please join Crucial Arts at the Dwyer Cultural Center for the Harlem debut of the Monthly Documentary Film Series, as it is sure to be a powerful, and thought provoking experience.