关爱之家 Care and Love 艾晓明 胡杰 Ai Xiaoming, Hu Jie (2007) (English subtitles)

In this 2007 documentary, directors Ai Xiaoming and Hu Jie follow the lives of HIV and AIDS patients in rural northern China. In the 1990s, state negligence of the public health system led to thousands of HIV and AIDS cases. Rural hospitals failed to separate healthy and unhealthy blood donations, causing many people who received transfusions to acquire HIV, AIDS, and other diseases. Victims included women who gave birth and their children. Many died from the disease, while others were ostracized. They sought legal help, but most lawsuits failed as hospitals denied responsibility; some received settlements yet could not obtain adequate treatment. The film includes interviews with victims and their lawyers and footage of the victims’ daily struggles as they seek justice. It portrays both the frustration with the limits of the Chinese legal system and the creation of a supportive community among those affected. "Care and Love" exposes the often invisible flaws of the Chinese legal institutions, while also showcasing the development of nascent civil society in the early 2000s led by victims, lawyers, and civil rights advocates.