A whole host of celebrities, including rocker Gwen Stefani, are lending their names and faces in support of a campaign to raise money for HIV/AIDS treatment in Africa and to spread the word about an awareness-raising film by Spike Jonze.
The Lazarus Effect, a documentary film supported by the (RED) campaign and The Global Fund, which collects funds from the sale of various products to help pay for HIV treatment in Africa, is set to premiere May 24 on HBO.
Directed by Lance Bangs and produced by Jonze and Susan Smith Ellis, The Lazarus Effect documents the amazing effects that antiretroviral drugs can have on those afflicted with AIDS. The film traces the experience of Constancde Mudenda, who lost all three of her children to AIDS before treatment was available. But when Mudenda learned of a clinic offering free ARVs, she became one of the first people to be enrolled. With her health restored, she now works as a educator at the clinic herself.
In support of the film and to promote the low cost of saving lives, friends of (RED) like actors Penelope Cruz, Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackman, Don Cheadle, Stefani and U2 frontman Bono, have put together a video showing just what 40 cents can buy. Turns out, 40 cents can buy everything from gum to a costume mustache to a day’s worth of life-saving ARVs. Even those close to death can be revived in as few as 40 days once they start taking the pills. This transformation is called The Lazarus Effect.
Check out the video here, and go to HBO online to learn more about the documentary.
Photo by PR Photos.