Experiencing Interruptions?

Walking in These Shoes

Synopsis:
A multi award-winning (Best Film, Sivar En Cortos 2022; Best Environmental/Social Political/Justice Award 2023, Latino and Native American Film Festival 2023; Finalist - Best Super Short Film, Student World Impact Film Festival 2023) Viral Interventions commissioned short documentary for and by Poz (people living with HIV) BIPOC people, and a Call to Action to the world’s only HIV specialty hospital Casey House to provide Poz BIPOC coordinated 365/24/7 care.

Logline:
A social justice inspired post-motem tribute to the late HIV activist Derek Yee, long-time volunteer of Casey House, who was denied admission to the HIV-specialty hospital during his end of life and died alone at home.

Audio and Visual Treatment:
Our documentary features cinematography by acclaimed Palestinian-Jordanian filmmaker Annie Sakkab, sound mix by Scott McCroire, and sound design of shoes/footsteps by Alex Mine. With shoes serving as a unifying theme, our film features slow-motion action shots of shoes as they are walked throughout the film. Metaphorically, the footsteps represent the lived and living experiences, as well as hopes and aspirations, of the film's Poz BIPOC subjects.

Comments from judges at the Student World Imapct Film Festival (SWIFF) 2023 [Finalist - Best Super Short Film]:

We are excited to award your film, "Walking in These Shoes", with the Finalist Award. Walking in These Shoes was well received by all of our judges at SWIFF, and we were highly impressed with your work. Our judges' comments on "Walking in These Shoes":
"A mesmerizing fusion of visuals and narrative, shaped by the director's visionary creative vision and artistic sensibilities."
"The film's visual sequences are breathtaking, filled with awe-inspiring moments that leave you in awe."
"The film is an extraordinary achievement, pushing the boundaries of the medium and leaving a lasting impact on the landscape of cinema."

  • Christian Hui
    Director
  • Samuel Ernesto Lopez
    Director
  • Christian Hui
    Writer
  • Samuel Ernesto Lopez
    Writer
  • Christian Hui
    Producer
  • Samuel Ernesto Lopez
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Camminando con queste scarpe
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 15, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,950 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    Chinese, English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - York University - Viral Interventions Research-Creation Project
  • Silva en Cortos 2022 (Best Film)
    San Salvador
    El Salvador
    December 7, 2022
    Latin America Premiere
    Best Film
  • OutWest Film Fest
    Reno
    United States
    October 21, 2023
    Nevada Premier
    Best Film, Short Documentary
  • Latino and Native American Film Festival
    New Haven
    United States
    March 26, 2023
    Best Environmental/Social Political/Justice Award 2023
  • Student World Impact Film Festival (SWIFF) 20233
    Virtual
    June 19, 2023
    Finalist - Best Super Short Film
  • Lift-Off Global Network First-Time Filmmaker Sesssions
    Virtual
    United States
    March 3, 2023
    Global Virtual Premiere (US)
    Finalist
  • Taos Pride Film Fest
    Taos, New Mexico
    United States
    August 3, 2023
    New Mexico Premiere
    Semi-Finalist
  • AluCine and Latin Film + Media Arts Festival 2023
    Dish with One Spoon Treaty 13 Territory/Toronto
    Canada
    October 4, 2023
    Official Selection and Honourable Mention
  • 15th Watersprite Film Festival
    Cambridge
    United Kingdom
    March 2, 2024
    Wychwood Social Impact Award Nominee
  • 28th Cine-Maniacs Filmfest
    Turkheim
    Germany
    March 15, 2024
    Germany Premiere
    Honourable Mention
  • Lift-Off Global Network Sessions 2023
    Virtual
    United Kingdom
    February 9, 2023
    Global Virtual Premiere (UK)
    Official Selection
  • Toronto Queer Film Festival Symposium 2022
    Toronto
    Canada
    April 23, 2022
    Toronto Premiere
    Official Viral Interventions 2022 Screening
  • AIDS2022 International AIDS Conference - Global Village
    Montreal
    Canada
    July 30, 2022
    AIDS2022 Global Village Village
    Official Selection
  • ATLAS 2022 International HIV Documentary Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    July 30, 2022
    Quebec Premiere
    Official Selection
  • VIsual AIDS
    New York City
    United States
    June 22, 2022
    VisualAIDS In-Person BROADCAST Summer Screening Series
    Official Selection
  • Audpop: 2022 Indigenous Documentary Film Challenge
    Missoula, Montana
    United States
    January 13, 2022
    US Virtual Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Concordia Film Festival (50th Anniversary)
    Montreal
    Canada
    May 5, 2023
    Montreal Premiere
    Official Selection
  • The Harm Reduction '23 Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    April 16, 2023
    Australia Premiere
  • Asian Feedback Film Festival
    Virtual @WildSoundFest Premiere
    Canada
    May 6, 2023
    Virtual @WildSoundFest Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Festival del Cinema di Cefalù
    Palermo
    Italy
    May 15, 2023
    Official Selection
  • Duemile30 International Film Experience Festival
    Milan
    Italy
    June 11, 2023
    European Premiere
  • Squish Movie Camp Queer and Feminist
    Rotterdam
    Netherlands
    June 24, 2023
    Netherlands Premiere
  • Reto por el Mundo / Erronka Munduan / Challenge for the World
    Virtual/San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa - Gipuzkoa, Spain
    Spain
    May 1, 2023
    Spain Premier
    Official Selection
  • Bakunawa Fest
    Bacloud
    Philippines
    October 16, 2023
    Philippines Premier
    Official Selection
  • 2023 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival Mediatheque
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 17, 2023
    Turtle Island North/Canada Indigenous Premiere
    Official Selection (Mediatheque)
  • 26th edition of the Extremadura International LGBT Film Festival | FanCineGay/Queer
    Badajoz/Virtual
    November 10, 2023
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Vtape (distribution@vtape.org)
    Distributor
  • MYmovies.it
    Distributor
    Country: Italy
    Rights: Video on Demand, Pay Per View
    Country: San Marino
    Country: Holy See (Vatican City State)
Director Biography - Christian Hui, Samuel Ernesto Lopez

Christian Hui (Co-Director and Co-Producer; He/They; Undetectable) is a queer, poz BIPOC settler HIV/AIDS activist, a Vanier Scholar, and a #ViralInterventions resident artist. When Christian shared his experience as an Asian living with HIV with intersecting key priority population identities, he was approached by a community-driven creative collective Rice Roll Productions (Vince Ha and Mezart Daulet) to star in an auto-biographical "Empty Nest: Gay Short Film". As a community-mobilizer, Christian co-founded Ontario Positive Asians and the Canadian Positive People Network, and was one of the HIV-positive chefs featured in the HBO-documentary "June's". Christian is currently a Senior Global Community Advisor at Prevention Access Campaign (Undetectable=Untransmittable), and UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board NGO Delegate. “Walking In These Shoes“ is Christian's documentary directorial debut.

Samuel Lopez (Co-Director and Co-Producer) was born in El Salvador. He left with his family during the civil war of the 1980s and settled in Montreal. Samuel is a certified translator and an HIV+ AIDS activist. HIV has been a theme of interest in his work and in his life as a community activist long before he tested positive. In 1993, Samuel made his directorial debut with the documentary "Samuel & Samantha," an autobiographical documentary about his life as a Latino drag queen. In 1996, while at the University of Toronto, Samuel wrote the screenplay “L’Histoire d’Henri” (“Henry’s Story”). In 2008, Samuel directed and produced the short documentary “Our Faces, Our Stories” for the group Latinos Positivos (HIV+ Latinos). He has directed several short documentary videos for Latinos Positivos Toronto and the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). He completed the feature documentary “The Sugarcane” (2013) that premièred at the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano in La Habana, Cuba.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Dear Viewers and Jurors,

We are grateful that you are viewing and considering our award-winning Viral Interventions short documentary for and by Poz (HIV+) BIPOC activists for your festivals.

Firstly, the film is a celebration and tribute to the legacy of the late Trinadadian Chinese settler HIV/AIDS activist Derek Yee, who passed alone at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Secondly, the film is a call to action to the world's only HIV+ specialty hospital to ensure it will work with the community and stakeholders, including AIDS service organizations, and to ascertain that Poz BIPOC people can have coordinated access to services 24/7/365.

"Walking In These Shoes" has been a work of love for and by the Poz BIPOC community who reside on the Dish with One Spoon Territory, Turtle Island/Toronto, Canada. We have intentionally interviewed Poz BIPOC chosen family members of the late Derek Yee to provide an account of a preventable tradgey.

We hope you will love it as much as we do.

In solidarity,
Christian Hui and Samuel Lopez