It has been so in traditional societies in which theatre has a strong social function and it is so in contemporary western communities where modern theatre flourishes. This is especially the case in campaigns of mass education to support public awareness in health issues. The performing arts have taken to the field to play valuable roles in the assault against the spread of HIV and AIDS.

On the other hand, artists will tell you that if you want to send a message, go to the post office (update that to the internet if you like), don't write a novel. Novels are not messages, messages are not art, and artists do not write to give messages. They probe, challenge, expose, disturb and make statements about reality, however harsh.

A film has just been released in Guyana, which brings both apparently paradoxical positions together. It was made for the specific purpose of delivering a message and at the same time it calls upon artistic methods in order to do it; but it also exposes certain harsh realities about contemporary society while challenging and disturbing the complacency of its audience.

The film is titled Against All Odds, written and directed by Desiree Edghill and produced by Artistes in Direct Support in collaboration with USAID. It is the result of a project involving 'Education Through The Performing Arts', the latest in an annual series of productions by this same group in which they use drama to serve the purpose of HIV and AIDS awareness. In previous years, they have been performing on stage, including a work called The Flame and the Ribbon by Ms Edghill. This year they decided to turn to the screen with a "TV movie" instead, to reach a wider audience. If it has not already begun, the intention is to show it in the cinemas as well, although it was made for television.

The effort by Artistes in Direct Support in Guyana is not alone. It joins the many skits and advertisements on radio and TV as well as the wider campaign around the Caribbean. There are stage plays, which have made the rounds in different territories including One of Our Sons Is Missing. There is also the very successful drama, The Final Truth? by Cross Caribbean Theatre led by Thom Cross and Cecily Spencer-Cross in Barbados, which toured other islands last year.

Against All Odds is very much a fledgling effort but an extremely important one given its novelty, its function, its context and the impact it is expected to have. All involved are amateurs in the field of movie-making but there is nothing for them to be ashamed of in the outcome of the venture even though there are obvious understandable flaws in the film.

The plot is centred around Nathalie (Nikosa Stewart), a very bright and cultured young lady unwittingly infected with HIV by her boyfriend (Maikel Henry). It shows her determination to overcome the odds through education, learning about effective medication and the support of a closely knit group of friends who, also through education, positive attitudes and unflagging support, see her through the worst of it. It shows how she learns to forgive, to ward off hostile attitudes and achieve goals. They very often have to counsel themselves in dealing with the various related issues and are led by Nathalie to become educators and counsellors themselves.

Not surprisingly, there are many incidents and conversations deliberately designed to teach the audience, and at times, these become too obvious, even though they make their point, which is the important thing. But it becomes too wordy in parts with excessive dialogue largely because of the film's greatest drawback: it is based on a script written more for the stage than for the screen. It is more a playscript in need of adaptive screenplay that could make the storyline driven by what you see rather than so much by what you hear.

The same carries over into the style of acting and directing, which are often quite stagey with the actors doing too much unnecessary work rather than doing what is suited for the camera. The two arts are somewhat different. In addition, for the same reason, some scenes could use further cutting, such as the funeral and the group meetings, which tended to be stilted in style and language. Even the dancing, despite the real accomplishment of Dacia Blackmore, whose performance is good to look at, is unnecessarily lengthy for a film in which the sequences need to advance the plot and move the story. Because of that necessity, also, the early parts of the movie are slow and plot development takes too long to get going.

There is no weak acting among the group members, who attack their roles with energy and obvious enjoyment, but for the reasons already treated, the work is more interesting in sequences where they are not the focus. For example, the scene in the office with the hostile staff (Rose-Gail St.Hill, Sandra-Odessa Primus, Beverly-Tisha Levius) is full of life and natural venom. They advanced the plot as did the meeting between Nathalie and Mrs Roache (Desiree Edghill). This is a high turning point in the action with real drama and perhaps the most moving moment. The acting is excellent with Miss Stewart and Ms Edghill working well together.

Partly for these reasons, the film belongs to Nikosa Stewart. Apart from Ms Edghill and a very photogenic Miss Blackmore, she gets very good support from Sonia Yarde, who is able to be visible as an individual in the group. Her two best moments are with Mrs Roache and with the Supervisor in the office, while her worst is at the funeral, which is not the movie's best moment either. She exudes grace, charm, wit and fortitude when these are necessary, is comfortable before the camera and is promising material for screen performance. She is a good find and for her, this film is an achievement.

And so it is as well, for the whole group of Nathalie's friends, Romel Edmondson, Michael Ignatius, Sonia Yarde, Mark Link. Althea Thomas and Lavern Fredericks. The camera work by Noel Harlequin/Comvitech Audio Vision is clean, neat, effective and the costuming (Negla Brandis) is also well done, as is the make-up by Fantasy Nails.

The story succeeds in bringing out a number of relevant issues with which the audience needs to be acquainted concerning HIV/AIDS and some of these are communicated, as they should be in a film, through plot, situation and character rather than through telling with words as sometimes happens in the work. Against All Odds is a landmark achievement and deserves sound commendation for taking this battle a step further in Guyana and the manner in which it is using television and the performing arts to do it.

The performing arts have frequently been called upon to take a leading role in public education, a role that they have played since the very beginnings of theatre and maintained throughout its evolution.

It has been so in traditional societies in which theatre has a strong social function and it is so in contemporary western communities where modern theatre flourishes. This is especially the case in campaigns of mass education to support public awareness in health issues. The performing arts have taken to the field to play valuable roles in the assault against the spread of HIV and AIDS.

On the other hand, artists will tell you that if you want to send a message, go to the post office (update that to the internet if you like), don't write a novel. Novels are not messages, messages are not art, and artists do not write to give messages. They probe, challenge, expose, disturb and make statements about reality, however harsh.

A film has just been released in Guyana, which brings both apparently paradoxical positions together. It was made for the specific purpose of delivering a message and at the same time it calls upon artistic methods in order to do it; but it also exposes certain harsh realities about contemporary society while challenging and disturbing the complacency of its audience.

The film is titled Against All Odds, written and directed by Desiree Edghill and produced by Artistes in Direct Support in collaboration with USAID. It is the result of a project involving 'Education Through The Performing Arts', the latest in an annual series of productions by this same group in which they use drama to serve the purpose of HIV and AIDS awareness. In previous years, they have been performing on stage, including a work called The Flame and the Ribbon by Ms Edghill. This year they decided to turn to the screen with a "TV movie" instead, to reach a wider audience. If it has not already begun, the intention is to show it in the cinemas as well, although it was made for television.

The effort by Artistes in Direct Support in Guyana is not alone. It joins the many skits and advertisements on radio and TV as well as the wider campaign around the Caribbean. There are stage plays, which have made the rounds in different territories including One of Our Sons Is Missing. There is also the very successful drama, The Final Truth? by Cross Caribbean Theatre led by Thom Cross and Cecily Spencer-Cross in Barbados, which toured other islands last year.

Against All Odds is very much a fledgling effort but an extremely important one given its novelty, its function, its context and the impact it is expected to have. All involved are amateurs in the field of movie-making but there is nothing for them to be ashamed of in the outcome of the venture even though there are obvious understandable flaws in the film.

The plot is centred around Nathalie (Nikosa Stewart), a very bright and cultured young lady unwittingly infected with HIV by her boyfriend (Maikel Henry). It shows her determination to overcome the odds through education, learning about effective medication and the support of a closely knit group of friends who, also through education, positive attitudes and unflagging support, see her through the worst of it. It shows how she learns to forgive, to ward off hostile attitudes and achieve goals. They very often have to counsel themselves in dealing with the various related issues and are led by Nathalie to become educators and counsellors themselves.

Not surprisingly, there are many incidents and conversations deliberately designed to teach the audience, and at times, these become too obvious, even though they make their point, which is the important thing. But it becomes too wordy in parts with excessive dialogue largely because of the film's greatest drawback: it is based on a script written more for the stage than for the screen. It is more a playscript in need of adaptive screenplay that could make the storyline driven by what you see rather than so much by what you hear.

The same carries over into the style of acting and directing, which are often quite stagey with the actors doing too much unnecessary work rather than doing what is suited for the camera. The two arts are somewhat different. In addition, for the same reason, some scenes could use further cutting, such as the funeral and the group meetings, which tended to be stilted in style and language. Even the dancing, despite the real accomplishment of Dacia Blackmore, whose performance is good to look at, is unnecessarily lengthy for a film in which the sequences need to advance the plot and move the story. Because of that necessity, also, the early parts of the movie are slow and plot development takes too long to get going.

There is no weak acting among the group members, who attack their roles with energy and obvious enjoyment, but for the reasons already treated, the work is more interesting in sequences where they are not the focus. For example, the scene in the office with the hostile staff (Rose-Gail St.Hill, Sandra-Odessa Primus, Beverly-Tisha Levius) is full of life and natural venom. They advanced the plot as did the meeting between Nathalie and Mrs Roache (Desiree Edghill). This is a high turning point in the action with real drama and perhaps the most moving moment. The acting is excellent with Miss Stewart and Ms Edghill working well together.

Partly for these reasons, the film belongs to Nikosa Stewart. Apart from Ms Edghill and a very photogenic Miss Blackmore, she gets very good support from Sonia Yarde, who is able to be visible as an individual in the group. Her two best moments are with Mrs Roache and with the Supervisor in the office, while her worst is at the funeral, which is not the movie's best moment either. She exudes grace, charm, wit and fortitude when these are necessary, is comfortable before the camera and is promising material for screen performance. She is a good find and for her, this film is an achievement.

And so it is as well, for the whole group of Nathalie's friends, Romel Edmondson, Michael Ignatius, Sonia Yarde, Mark Link. Althea Thomas and Lavern Fredericks. The camera work by Noel Harlequin/Comvitech Audio Vision is clean, neat, effective and the costuming (Negla Brandis) is also well done, as is the make-up by Fantasy Nails.