BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO FILMMAKER Malon Murape has released an HIV and Aids sci-fi short film, Garingiro, to amplify voices in the fight against the pandemic as well as discussing its genesis in the United States and Africa. Murape told NewsDay Life & Style that the film which features two actors Elias Mudimu (as Garingiro or G7) and Melody Mutematsaka (pictured) (playing Eve) was inspired by the fading of voices in the fight against HIV and Aids. “One can be made to think that interventions to combat HIV and Aids have been successful since there is now less talk about it in the society and the media but the truth is, the pandemic is still claiming lives. The death of one person is a loss to the nation,” he said. “It’s against this background that we thought of amplifying voices in the fight against HIV and Aids by producing Garingiro, which explores the origins of Aids in the US and Africa as well as its relations to skin diseases such as carposi sacoma. The full film is available on YouTube channel Malante TV for download.” Murape described Garingiro, written by Mudimu, as a thrilling movie and expressed that the characterisation of actors did not in any way stereotype the represented genders. “It’s a thrilling fictional fantasy and the thrill comes in Garingiro’s dream to find a cure for HIV. The young man represents a new approach of fighting the pandemic characterised by the new quest for cure. Eve, the virus, is represented by a beautiful young lady, Melody Mutematsaka who doesn’t even look sick. A fight breaks out, resulting in a draw,” he said. Murape, however, emphasised that the depiction of Eve as a virus and Garingiro as a cure trial was done just for purposes of relaying the story and not gender stereotyping. G7, a test subject, wakes up in an abandoned warehouse to a phone call in which the caller explains why he was being held captive. The film, which only features the two, sees the fight ending in a stalemate.