Not far from the White House, the Capitol, and the National Mall lies a part of Washington, DC that the tourists never see and the mainstream media virtually ignores. At least three percent of DC is HIV positive, a staggering rate higher than parts of Africa. Behind all the stories of heartbreak, loss, and struggle there are also the incredible, encouraging stories of the people behind grassroots movements to extend education, combat stigmas, and spread hope.

Festival alum Susan Koch's (Kicking It, TFF '08) eye-opening and inspiring documentary tells the unseen and unheard stories behind the epidemic in our nation's capital. From a mother of three who has used her plight with government housing as motivation to campaign for reform, to a former drug addict now advocating for funding of needle exchange programs on Capitol Hill, to the self-described "privileged" young people volunteering at Joseph's House shelter, Koch smartly fixes on the positivity fueling these grassroots movements to remind us that the only unsolvable problems in this country are the ignored ones.

Susan Koch and Susan Koch