Kevin: Keith Butler	Paris: Byron Stewart
Charles: Perry Cavitt	Teddy: Malik Middleton
Pharoah: Da'non Bolden	J'Halil: Sanford Gaylord
Felicia: Ronda Bedgood	Dr. Johnson: Clifford Taylor
Director: Sharon Zurek

30-second bottom line: Universal drama, which explores relationships, HIV testing, drug adherence and sexual risk by glancing into the lives of five African-American gay men.

Story Line: Kevin (Keith Butler) is a counselor in a gay men's support group that is attended by Charles (Perry Cavitt), Pharaoh (Da'non Bolden) and Teddy (Malik Middleton). Charles is HIV positive and is having difficulty with his medications and is thinking of take a "drug holiday." Even though his mother is very supportive, he's having trouble finding the inner strength to do what is best for him. He goes to see Dr. Johnson (Clifford Taylor) and learns that while he can skip his pharmaceutical routine, there could be long-term pain for short-term gain that he may literally live to regret.

Pharoah has a tendency to participate in high-risk behavior; he talks the right talk but does not walk the walk. He is a recovering substance abuser that meets new sexual partners on the Internet and phone chat lines.

Teddy is engaged to his high school sweetheart and is about to be married. Their discussion about giving matchbooks with their names on them as a keepsake to their wedding guests, most who don't smoke, speaks to the fact that humans frequently do illogical things. Teddy is an unhappy bisexual person because while he is sexually active with his fiancee, he's having an "affair" with a man. He decides to come out to both his fiancee and his minister and the reaction of both is not quite what you might expect.

Paris (Byron Stewart) is a waiter, who wears his gayness on every inch of his body. His behavior at his job causes him to be fired and he seeks advice from his best friend Felicia (Ronda Bedgood). Eventually he too joins the support group, which takes us back to Kevin.

Kevin literally has the emotional lives of his group members in the palm of his hands yet he comes to a meeting with a cold, sneezing and spreading germs, which might compromise Charles, who has a weakened immune system. Worse yet, although Kevin is in a monogamous relationship with J'Halil (Sanford Gaylord), and they've both been tested for HIV, Kevin has not gone to get his results. It seems that he's afraid that if he's positive, he'll have to tell his partner and that might end the relationship.

Tell me more about it: Unlike the film "Circuit," which deals with high risk behavior and "Family Fundamentals" that speaks to one's self image and acceptance by family members of their sexuality, "Kevin's Room" addresses real life situations and subtly tells you how to

effectively handle the situation. The film is sponsored by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and is designed to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among black gays. Clearly something different needs to be done because in spite of major medical advances, the infection rate among African-American gay men continues to rise.

This film has a strong message about HIV, as did last year's "One Week." It has been shown nationally at health conferences focusing on HIV issues and is distributed free of charge with a discussion guide.

"Kevin's Room" will be shown only once at Landmark's Century Centre on Sunday, August 4th at 3:00 PM as part of The 21st Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival. Located at 2828 N. Clark in Chicago, just north of Diversey, park in the adjacent garage up to 3 hours for $5.00. Festival hotline is 312-458-9117. Advance purchase of tickets is recommended. For more information, call 312-746-5902 (CDPH) or send an email to soto_esmerelda@cdph.org.