“Mga
Batang Poz,” a first-of-its-kind novel about four Filipino teenagers with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), will be made into a six-part digital series by
Dreamscape Digital to be streamed soon on ABS-CBN’s streaming service iWant.
According
to the novel’s Palanca-winning author Segundo Matias, Jr., the book aims to
promote HIV awareness and to give hope to “poz,” a term that refers to a person
who is HIV-positive.
“I
learned about the data and that’s when I became serious about writing it.
Personally, I felt like it was my responsibility to do this, because literature
has a huge influence on readers. I needed to write this for the Filipino
youth,” said Matias.
The
Philippines has the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region,
according to the Department of Health. Majority of these infections are also
reported to be among young people aged 15 to 24, said the Philippine National
AIDS Council last year.
“This
book is not just about HIV awareness; it’s about hope. Even if you have HIV, you
won’t die, you may continue to live and dream as long as you get tested and get
proper treatment. Your only enemy is the stigma. The message of the novel is:
life goes on,” added Matias.
The
adaptation of the book into a series was made official by a contract signing
held recently, attended by ABS-CBN COO of broadcast Cory Vidanes, Dreamscape
head Deo Endrinal, iWant head Elaine Uy-Casipit, head of finance for broadcast
and news and current affairs Cat Lopez, and Matias.
From
creating memorable teleseryes on television, ABS-CBN’s production unit
Dreamscape Entertainment has expanded its portfolio of original content to
include digital films and series produced by Dreamscape Digital. Dreamscape
Digital produced the movies “Glorious” and “The Gift,” which can be streamed
for free on iWant.
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