MAGGIE
& ME
Production Company: GIRL BEHIND THE CAMERA PRODUCTIONS
Media Partners: Full Picture, IMG, The New York AIDS Film Festival
Background:
The year 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of AIDS. Maggie Rizer and Suzanne Engo are both
27 years old, and from different sides of the globe; neither young woman can recall a day in
their lives in which AIDS did not exist. Both women were born in 1978, two years after the AIDS
pandemic surfaced. Although their upbringing and cultures are distinctly different (Maggie is
from the United States, while Suzanne is from Cameroon, West Africa), both women have been
actively involved in the fight against AIDS throughout their young lives. It is their shared
experiences in this battle that will help to highlight the plight of the disease, and will give young
people around the globe a path to follow as they join the fight to end AIDS in our lifetime.
The Film’s Journey:
At first glance, Maggie Rizer may seem to typify the sort of blue-eyed, blonde-headed beauty
who could never be affected by the devastations of AIDS. But, as a teenager, Maggie faced the
horrors of AIDS head-on, when her father died of the disease—a personal tragedy that has
stayed with Maggie, even in the worlds of fashion and glamour that she finds herself today.
Likewise, the stereotypes that we might expect an African woman like Suzanne Engo to have
faced are not so clear-cut, and Suzanne’s personal fight against HIV/AIDS spans a greater
depth and breadth than first appearances might suggest. Sharing their experiences with each
other will reveal that, if AIDS can so deeply affect women with such different lives, it can impact
lives everywhere, including yours and mine.
The journey documented in “MAGGIE & ME” will begin with Suzanne and Maggie as they travel
to each other’s respective countries to see the face of AIDS from two sides of the globe.
Suzanne will bring Maggie with her as they visit her home in Cameroon, a country in Africa that
has each found its own ways to fight the AIDS epidemic; Maggie will take Suzanne to her
birthplace, Watertown, NY, where we will take a look at a section of America to encourage young
people to win the fight against HIV/AIDS. Although differing customs, lifestyles and the literal
distance between their continents may initially seem to divide the worlds that Maggie and
Suzanne have each grown up knowing, the film will make clear that the suffering caused by
HIV/AIDS is synonymous the world over. Maggie & Suzanne will serve as symbols and guides
during their filmed journey, showing the world the kinds of situations that all young people are
battling in the face of this globally spanning disease. The documentary will highlight effective,
youth-driven solutions to the worldwide problems of the AIDS epidemic, and each leg of the
journey will demonstrate ways in which young people around the globe can take charge in the
fight. Maggie and Suzanne’s journey will mark a new step in the struggle to defeat global AIDS:
through effective partnership across cultures and races, both women are striving towards a
common, selfless goal. Ultimately, it is this newest generation of young people who must have
the strength to face the epidemic head-on; and Maggie and Suzanne are emblematic of young
people throughout the world, who this film will encourage to, themselves, become active in the
fight against AIDS.
Maggie and Suzanne look forward to venturing forth on their compelling partnership and
enthusiastic mission towards positive change in the face of such a serious and solemn subject;
they will show young people throughout the world effective solutions to prevent the spread of
this global scourge.
& ME
Production Company: GIRL BEHIND THE CAMERA PRODUCTIONS
Media Partners: Full Picture, IMG, The New York AIDS Film Festival
Background:
The year 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of AIDS. Maggie Rizer and Suzanne Engo are both
27 years old, and from different sides of the globe; neither young woman can recall a day in
their lives in which AIDS did not exist. Both women were born in 1978, two years after the AIDS
pandemic surfaced. Although their upbringing and cultures are distinctly different (Maggie is
from the United States, while Suzanne is from Cameroon, West Africa), both women have been
actively involved in the fight against AIDS throughout their young lives. It is their shared
experiences in this battle that will help to highlight the plight of the disease, and will give young
people around the globe a path to follow as they join the fight to end AIDS in our lifetime.
The Film’s Journey:
At first glance, Maggie Rizer may seem to typify the sort of blue-eyed, blonde-headed beauty
who could never be affected by the devastations of AIDS. But, as a teenager, Maggie faced the
horrors of AIDS head-on, when her father died of the disease—a personal tragedy that has
stayed with Maggie, even in the worlds of fashion and glamour that she finds herself today.
Likewise, the stereotypes that we might expect an African woman like Suzanne Engo to have
faced are not so clear-cut, and Suzanne’s personal fight against HIV/AIDS spans a greater
depth and breadth than first appearances might suggest. Sharing their experiences with each
other will reveal that, if AIDS can so deeply affect women with such different lives, it can impact
lives everywhere, including yours and mine.
The journey documented in “MAGGIE & ME” will begin with Suzanne and Maggie as they travel
to each other’s respective countries to see the face of AIDS from two sides of the globe.
Suzanne will bring Maggie with her as they visit her home in Cameroon, a country in Africa that
has each found its own ways to fight the AIDS epidemic; Maggie will take Suzanne to her
birthplace, Watertown, NY, where we will take a look at a section of America to encourage young
people to win the fight against HIV/AIDS. Although differing customs, lifestyles and the literal
distance between their continents may initially seem to divide the worlds that Maggie and
Suzanne have each grown up knowing, the film will make clear that the suffering caused by
HIV/AIDS is synonymous the world over. Maggie & Suzanne will serve as symbols and guides
during their filmed journey, showing the world the kinds of situations that all young people are
battling in the face of this globally spanning disease. The documentary will highlight effective,
youth-driven solutions to the worldwide problems of the AIDS epidemic, and each leg of the
journey will demonstrate ways in which young people around the globe can take charge in the
fight. Maggie and Suzanne’s journey will mark a new step in the struggle to defeat global AIDS:
through effective partnership across cultures and races, both women are striving towards a
common, selfless goal. Ultimately, it is this newest generation of young people who must have
the strength to face the epidemic head-on; and Maggie and Suzanne are emblematic of young
people throughout the world, who this film will encourage to, themselves, become active in the
fight against AIDS.
Maggie and Suzanne look forward to venturing forth on their compelling partnership and
enthusiastic mission towards positive change in the face of such a serious and solemn subject;
they will show young people throughout the world effective solutions to prevent the spread of
this global scourge.
GIRL BEHIND THE CAMERA PRODUCTIONS
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