ISAIAH 41: 10

“fear not. For I AM with you. Do not be dismayed for I AM your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

“fear not.” was created with this verse in mind as we experience a story about the fear of judgement and rejection and what we do in order to move forward in spite of it. But what happens when our worst fears are realized? How do we react? These are the questions that the protagonist Jeremiah faces in this impactful narrative about HIV stigma, faith, and support.

Despite the many ways to prevent and treat HIV, it becomes harder to manage when there is a more difficult affliction to treat: stigma. To this day, there are people who do not understand, or refuse to understand, how HIV can affect individuals on a deeper level beyond the physical perspective. In this film, the fear of stigma causes the protagonist Jeremiah to worry about his social and familial relationships, and even what it means for him from a spiritual perspective.

Yet, there is not much discourse about how faith can also play a major role in the discussion about HIV, both from a positive and negative viewpoint. Faith-based discourse has often been used as a means to separate and divide, as we continue to see from political and social figures with massive platforms. However, we see those who use faith as a way to connect and bridge gaps between people on a less frequent basis, and even less so concerning the reduction of HIV stigma.

“fear not.” invites audiences to think critically about how they would react if they or a loved one was diagnosed with HIV as we navigate the difficult discussions together in an effort to not just reduce HIV stigma through art and conversation, but through encouraging those we care about to…fear not.

*The Cast, Crew, and Project Director would like to thank Out of Hand Theater, the Gilead COMPASS Initiative, and all the community partners that made the project of “fear not.” happen.