film
animated documentary short
“Doug + Me” is an autoethnographic animated documentary short film centered around the story of my uncle Doug, a victim of the 90s AIDS epidemic. I grew up being told the story of how my birth was planned in order to give my grieving family solace in the wake of Doug’s death after a battle with the disease that killed millions. In this way, I feel tethered to Doug, indebted to him - I would not exist if not for Doug. The story of the AIDS epidemic is one of politics and unrest, of protests and statistics, of discrimination and of social upheaval. Yet it is also a story of each individual person who it has effected, its victims not only among those who it has killed. “Doug + Me” is a personal reflection on the human side of the AIDS epidemic. It’s a contemplation of the life of an uncle who I have never met but the ripples of whose legacy live on in every breath I take. Like a look inside an archive, the film integrates both historical and found family footage and photos with a richly textured stop-motion animation style to reflect on the emotional impact of the AIDS crisis and on the enduring ripples of legacies we all leave behind.