Bumming Cigarettes is a short film about a brief and intimate meeting between a young Black lesbian woman who is in the process of taking an HIV test and a middle aged Black Gay HIV Positive man. Coming off of the devastation of a bad breakup with a girlfriend, Vee musters up the courage to go and take an HIV test to put her worst fears to rest. What she experiences during her trip to a local clinic is much more than she expects while sharing a cigarette with a stranger, Jimmy, during the 10 minutes that she awaits her test results.
Alia Hatch makes a strong debut in this short film, as a young Black lesbian woman looking to discover her status. This is a breakthrough performance for James Tolbert, a native Philadelphian and professional actor living with HIV for over 20 years. Alia and James deliver a moving performance in this film that explores complex issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic including the loss of intimacy and stigma that persons living with HIV/AIDS may encounter, while also encouraging awareness around HIV/AIDS testing and the way we treat persons living with the disease.
Starring: Alia Hatch and James Tolbert
CREW:
Executive Producer/Director/Writer: Tiona McClodden
Cinematographer: Sienna Pinderhughes
Film Festival Screenings:
2012 Philadelphia QFest – Philadelphia, PA
2012 BlackStar Film Festival-Philadelphia, PA
2012 Corona Cork Film Festival – Cork, Ireland
2013 Langston Hughes African American Film Festival
2013 Sistah Sinema Screening Tour: Atlanta, Greensboro, Portland, Cleveland, Chicago,
2013 frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
2013 Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2013 Fresno Reel Pride Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2013 GFest Gaywise Festival-London
2013 Queer Film Festival MEZIPATRA-Prague & Brno, Czech Republic
2014 Queens World Film Festival
2014 Massimadi Afro Caribbean LGBT International Film Festival 2014
2014 KANSAI QUEER FILM FESTIVAL - Osaka + Kyoto, JAPAN
2014 Community Underground Film Festival - Philadelphia, PA
2014 Arthur Ross Gallery, A Day With(out) Art / World AIDS Day
2015 Black Alphabet Film Festival
Exhibition Film Print Available in HDCAM, BLU-RAY DVD, DVD
Format: 16x9 HD
Contact: Tiona at harrietsgun@gmail.com
Exhibition Review Screener