Living with the Tiger

Please read to the bottom of this article to learn how you can win a copy of this DVD before it’s release date & to see the production trailer.

Living with the Tiger is a feature length documentary by British Filmmaker Mike Thomas about a group of HIV infected orphans in the Lopburi province of Thailand that have been abandoned by society.

Instead of focusing on the destructive nature of this disease and the havoc it wreaks the filmmaker decided to focus on the impact the disease has on society by following a group of orphans as they integrate themselves back into society while still dealing with their disease. HIV in and of itself is enough to deal with but  many of these children have also endured the loss of their parents to HIV as well as having their extended families turn their backs on them, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Living with the Tiger follows two such boys lives over 3 years as they try to reintegrate back into their community and families that once left them to die in hospice care. Luckily these children were given a second chance at life in the small village of  Baan Gerda were they were loved and taken care of, and where they came to grips with the terrible disease that took much away from them in their young lives.

Living with the Tiger isn’t a story of the predictable HIV outcomes but an inspirational tale of triumph over adversity, about children who are changing peoples views of HIV and enlightening the public about the disease and those who are not only infected, but affected by it.

The children’s story is actually a tale within a tale as the film frames their story through their ambitious performance in a specially written opera,composed by Bruce Gaston, and performed to audiences in Bangkok and the countryside. It shows their early attempts at playing musical instruments and acting, through to the finale and a major concert in Khon Kaen.

Although the children are taken care of and and by all appearances are happy and healthy, Living with the Tiger highlights the secondary problem with HIV which is often as destructive and deadly as the disease itself, stigma and discrimination. Every day people affected with HIV lose their jobs, homes, friends and family due to fear and misinformation about the disease. HIV is still seen by many people as a disease that only affects gay people, drug users or those working in the sex industry when in fact HIV now affects people in every country from every walk of life.

The filmmakers hope Living with the Tiger provides a better future for these children living with HIV as well as raising awareness of the disease, the stigma surrounding it and the deep rooted fears that many still hold regarding HIV.

Director Mike Thomas:

When you see the vitality of the children you know that they can make a contribution to society and they have a role to play. Theyshould be given that opportunity. People need to understand that their fears are unfounded and the children pose no danger

Living with the Tiger Screenings

March 14th: Foreign Correspondents Club Bangkok. 8pm-10pm

March 17th: Pratravadi Theatre, Bangkok. 8pm-10pm

Both of these screenings are open to the public and FREE. Reservations must be made at www.livingwiththetiger.com.

For much more information on Living with the Tiger please visit the official website Living with the Tiger or their Living with the Tiger Facebook page.

For more information on the great work being done at Baan Gerda and to learn how you can sponsor a child or make a donation please visit:

Living with the Tiger Giveaway

There are quite a few good causes that I support here in Thailand but few of them pull at the heart strings like Living with the Tiger and Baan Gerda which is run by the Bangkok based Childrens Rights Foundation.

These adorable children deserve to have full rewarding lives filled with love and hope and you can help them.

Over the past 3 1/2 years I have been blogging about Thailand I’ve met, worked with and helped many Thailand bloggers in our community and now I’m asking for your help to get the word out about Living with the Tiger and Baan Gerda.

I will be giving away 3 copies of the Festival edition DVD of Living with the Tiger as well as making a donation to Baan Gerda in each of the winners names.

The winners will be chosen at random from blog comments made on this post that meet the qualifications*.

Once the winners are chosen I will make a donation of $28 in the winners name at the Living with the Tiger website and the festival edition DVD will be sent to the winners address. I will then make a donation in the winners name for the same amount at the Baan Gerda website. 3 winners will be chosen.

Qualifications to win Living with the Tiger DVD

You must do any 1 of the following activities and then come back to this blog post and post a link to what you’ve done or tell us about it.

• Retweet this article
• Share this article on Facebook
• Write a blog post about Living with the Tiger ( you don’t have to mention this site or post )
• Post on your wall at Facebook about Living with the Tiger
• Tweet about Living with the Tiger 10 separate times over 2 weeks ( throw in an @landofsmiles at the end so I can see them )
• DO anything to promote Living with the tiger and come back here and tell us about it.

That’s it…help get the word out about this remarkable film and you could win one of 3 festival edition DVD’s of Living with the Tiger with the donation going to the film project and to Baan Gerda in your name.

CONTEST ENDS: March 5th at Midnight Thailand time. The winners will be announced on Sunday March 6th.

Living with the Tiger Film trailer