ABOUT THE FILM

worldFrame's first documentary feature, Leaving Mai Chau, focuses on TrekAsia, a fundraising adventure challenge in Vietnam supporting amfAR's TreatAsia HIV/AIDS programs. By documenting the TrekAsia journey, worldFrame hopes to raise awareness of this global epidemic. Leaving Mai Chau will be a story about everyday people testing their physical limits while struggling to overcome their emotions and personal issues regarding AIDS.

Our goal with this documentary is to inform viewers about this worldwide health crisis, while showcasing the emotional and compelling stories of each participant. We hope to inspire viewers to take action and change the world.

Stacy: "So I squatted in an outhouse in the rain…and there was a cockroach squatting right there next to me"

Jeff: "I love the children…they're so happy about everything. To see their faces light up over a lollipop… If I was to give my niece a lollipop she'd throw it across the room. It was tough to see the conditions that a lot of these kids were in, but to think that we came through these villages and for a fraction of a second those kids were so thrilled…that's a great feeling"

Glenn: (on phone) "Hey buddy! I'm in Halong Bay, surrounded by these gorgeous islands, and no one believes I'm talking to you…"

Chelsea: "I'm having a very hard time…feeling very faint…gotta keep going…"

Bert: " I lost people to AIDS, and it had been a long time since I remembered them and thought of them and memorialized their lives…it feels good to have devoted time to thinking about their lives."

Dexter: "The water buffalo…it's bizarre it's like you're on this wild safari or something"

Barbara: "It was my own personal challenge…but for someone who never worked out, I think I did a great job…I feel like shit right now!"

Daniel: "The phrase physical challenge was justified this afternoon…I'm spent.'

Michael: "My parents…they think I'm nuts for doing these kinds of crazy expeditions…my mom thought it was crazy we were going to Vietnam- she doesn't have the image of Vietnam today, she has the image of when her brother was there fighting the war."

Natalie: ""I'm a war baby and I was born in Vietnam. With the kids…it's a little hard because I could easily see myself in their situation. It could easily be me in one of these villages waving to you guys."

Alatia: "I lead a very cushy life. We are very privileged to experience how others live. Here we are complaining, and these people are giving us the best of what we have. It would be like bringing people into our homes and feeding them the finest dinner, and them complaining. It does something to you, you really stop to think about just how lucky we are."

Guthrie: "I'm really hot, and if I sweat my hearing aids will go cujo on me, and we don't want that!"

Harry: "I'm here to personally congratulate all of you because you've got a lot of nerve - you've traveled thousands of miles to walk, hike and travel across Vietnam... You wanted to learn about people infected with HIV in this country, and about amfAR's role in fighting AIDS in Asia...you wanted to raise resources to ease the burden of this disease for people living far away from your home... not everybody wants to spend a vacation like this."

Gary: "The trip last year, being involved with that group of people, the venue..I didn't know what to really expect going into it but i think along the way with the group of people making friendships...that was a big reason why I came back."

A total of 33.2 million people now live with HIV/AIDS.
2.1 million of them are under the age of 15.
Every day 6,800 people contract HIV—283 every hour.

In Asia, 432,000 people became newly infected in 2007, bringing the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS there to 4.8 million. AIDS claimed approximately 302,000 lives in Asia in 2007.

Source: UNAIDS, AIDS Epidemic Update, December 2007

The estimated number of people living with HIV in Vietnam more than doubled between 2000 and 2005 .

Source: amfar.org