3 Needles

In the first of three stories, whose common theme is the spread of the HIV virus, a young woman arrives in a Chinese village, apparently commissioned by the government to encourage local inhabitants to give blood. When she announces that each blood sample will be rewarded with five dollars, none of the poor farmers wants to miss out on this unique opportunity. Soon afterwards, however, many of the villagers become seriously ill, many die, and the young woman makes a hasty departure... The Canadian Denys lives with his parents and tries to improve his family's bad financial situation by taking jobs in porn films. When he has to go for a check-up, he hands in his father's blood sample instead of his own. When he is discovered, his mother decides to do something drastic... The work of Catholic novice Clara is to convert a dying indigenous community in South Africa. Inside, however, she feels that she should be helping those who still have a life ahead of them and who could be saved from a swift death. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)