Live Love Laugh

Live Love Laugh is an award-winning short documentary featuring Dawn Cameron, who shares her powerful lived experience of being diagnosed with HIV in 1999 and navigating the fear, stigma, and misinformation that followed.

Diagnosed shortly after getting married and while raising a young child, Dawn reflects on the judgement she and her family faced, the isolation caused by ignorance around HIV and AIDS, and the emotional toll of being misunderstood. Through honesty, humour, and reflection, she speaks about survival, education, and the importance of breaking stigma and discrimination.

Now, more than 20 years later, Dawn is still here — thriving, grounded in her culture, and focused on love, family, and making memories. Live Love Laugh highlights how education, compassion, and lived experience are essential to challenging stigma and changing how communities understand HIV.

When they know

When They Know is a short documentary featuring Carol, who shares her lived experience of returning home as a teenager, reconnecting with her identity, and navigating life after learning she was HIV positive.

Through Carol’s story, the film explores the stigma and misinformation surrounding HIV, particularly in small communities. She speaks openly about isolation, fear, and judgement — including how everyday interactions changed once people learned about her diagnosis.

Her journey underscores the importance of education, understanding, and compassion in breaking stigma. Created as part of a documentary series focused on HIV awareness and stigma reduction, When They Know centres lived experience as a powerful tool for change, healing, and community education.

Meant to be

Meant to Be is a short documentary sharing the lived experience of a transgender woman navigating identity, belonging, and survival while facing stigma, misunderstanding, and systemic barriers.

Through honesty and vulnerability, the film explores experiences of being misgendered, bullied, and emotionally harmed from a young age, and how those experiences shaped anxiety, loss, and periods of instability later in life. It speaks to the lack of safe, affirming spaces for transgender people and the urgent need for trans-specific supports, understanding, and compassion.

This work also honours Kristen Shawana-baa from Sheguiandah First Nation, who courageously shared her journey of triumphs and struggles navigating the healthcare system while seeking support for her gender reassignment surgery. Kristen-baa was a powerful advocate whose voice helped advance anti-stigma work through the Anishinabek Nation Health Program.

Sadly, Kristen-baa began her spirit journey before she could fully live as she chose. Her advocacy, strength, and message continue to live on through the Live As You Choose anti-stigma campaign and the stories shared in this series.

June Commanda - A Survivor’s Story: Spanish Residential School

June Commanda recalls her first day at the Spanish Residential School, where her hair was cut, her belongings were taken, and her language was forbidden. She speaks about punishment, fear, and protecting her younger sister, and how that trauma followed her home and into the next generation. Today, she breaks that cycle by choosing love and telling her children the words that were taken from her.