This post is somewhat related to the previous one.
I’ve started to watch more and more movies online via Netflix instant view service. Sometimes it’s hard to find documentaries, foreign and independent films on DVD and many are never released in that format, but Netflix has some available online with the convenience that I can watch them on my TV, computer, or even the iPod.
Last night I watched All of Us by director Emily Abt. I think this movie was showcased by the Showtime channel a while ago.
Even when All of Us was mostly filmed in the US, it has a strong connection with Ethiopia and Africa in general.   
The movie follows Mehret Mandefro, a young Ethiopian American doctor, while she works on a research project about high rates of HIV infection among black women. She works in the South Bronx and many of her patients are African American women that are suffering the consequences of abuse, poverty, and lack of control over their lives.
But don’t jump to conclusions too fast.
The big discovery of Dr. Mandefro’s research and that of the movie is that high rates of HIV infections are affecting not only African American women, but heterosexual women in general, from every class, continent, and color.
At some point in the movie, she has a candid talk with some of her girl friends, well educated women of all races, and surprisely they all share the same stories of leaving important decisions that could affect their lives forever in the hands of men.
The more affected by this lack of power over their lives are black women. Over time this has terrible consequences over their health.
The problem is that no one seems to care and Dr. Mendefro’s goal is to make this women visible again, to empower them to take control of their lives and to solve this problem from the beginning, educating young black girls. 
Later in the movie, Mehret travels to Ethiopia to visit her family and to evaluate the HIV infection rate among Ethiopian women. As you can imagine if black women in the first world are highly affected by this epidemic, the situation in Ethiopia and Africa in general is much worse.

It was amazing to see that even when people in Ethiopia don’t have the economic resources we have in the West, they are slowly changing women’s lives and educating others about HIV infection, and in Dr. Mandrefro’s words, ”that kind of changes are also a lot more lasting than anything that can come from outside, that’s very powerful to me” .
I know some people criticized this movie saying that it only intends to promote a young pretty black woman doctor, who just wants fame and money, but I don’t agree with this opinion. It seems that there are people who don’t want a black woman, pretty and intelligent in a position of power.
The movie is not perfect, but serves to highlight a situation that has been hidden for a long time and that is specially killing black women (and those of other races too).
As a woman, I completely understand the subject of the film.

Links:

Obama appoints Mehret Mandefro as a White House Fellow
‘I want to change the power dynamics in relationships’ NY Daily News
Doctor Mehret
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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