"STIGMA" chosen as this week's POW!

This week's POW is Stigma, the story of David, an HIV-positive man who has not revealed his status to anyone until a clinic receptionist openly discloses his status and prevents him from receiving treatment.

Before getting into filmmaking, project creator Quincy Minor, earned a degree in computer programming and he and his wife were members of motorcycle clubs. When his wife's club had an anniversary party, Quincy filmed the event and became instantly hooked on filmmaking.

"I decided to take a few courses to learn more about filmmaking so I enrolled in Austin Filmworks. One of my classmates told me about Celtx and said it was free. I didn't take it seriously. Later, I decided to check it out. I was impressed by the writing, organization, and publishing tools."

According to Quincy this film was shot in just one day and the actors are all relatives of the director. The story was inspired by a story that Quincy saw in the news.

"I like to write about current issues and the decisions that we make in life. I read the newspaper, watch the news on TV and read it over the internet. I also try to watch as many movies as I can. I originally got my idea for Stigma from watching the news. After hearing the lawyers irate description of what happened to John Doe, I logged onto the news stations website, printed the story, and put it into the folder with the rest of my ideas. I thought the Stigma of HIV/AIDS was a thing of the past. When it came time for my first semester final project, I had a few ideas that would have cost money and resources I didn't have. I decided to do a little more research on the situation. I went to the courthouse to search the computers for any information. There were hundreds of John Doe's in the database so I didn't get far. I did what I should have done in the first place and visited his lawyer. His lawyer was very friendly and was excited about the idea of a movie and printed the petition that was filed for me. This was all I needed to finish my first script."

Stigma, was shot on DV and edited in Final Cut Pro. It premiered in the first week of December 2006. Since then, it has been screened at the Hollywood Black Film Festival, the San Francisco Black Film Festival, the Texas Black Film Festival and the Nudge 3.5 Micro Digital Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Way to go Quincy! Keep up the great work!

Michelle and the C-Team.