A positive herpes diagnosis and a lack of vulnerable stories from herpes positive people inspired our founder to create a documentary featuring the stories of STI positive people. She wanted to normalize the idea of living with an STI, provide examples of STI disclosures and show people that life can be great post diagnosis. Most importantly, she wanted to show people that having an STI was NOT something to be ashamed of!
About
Meet the Founding Team
Jolene is a first generation Cuban-American Jersey girl. No Shame in this Game is Jolene’s first film and was created two years after she received her herpes diagnosis. She observed a lack of empowered, vulnerable stories and information on how to have conversations about sex, so she decided to create a resource providing just that! When Jolene is not working her day job, you can find her either dancing, baking, journaling, or planning her next passion project.
Erika is a proud Puerto Rican who was born and raised in Georgia. Wanting a different type of environment from the south, she made her way up to New York City in 2016.
What blossomed Erika’s interest into sex education is when she was first diagnosed with GHSV1. She now devotes her time into challenging the taboos of sex and destroying the stigma around living with an STI. When Erika is not diving into sex education research, she loves trying to cook up new recipes, spending time with her dog, Lily, and exploring museums around NYC.
Meet the Film Team
Zia is an Oregon based artist and herpes focused content creator. She is the founder of The Gallery For Positive People – a platform for STI positive individuals to express themselves and build awareness of our lived experiences through creating and sharing art. During her studies at the University of Oregon, she conducted a qualitatively driven research study on the lived experiences of herpes positive people which became an undergraduate honors thesis. She is excited to continue to work on No Shame in this Game and build a world where people are informed and empowered regarding their bodies and sexual health. Feel free to connect with her on Instagram via @thegalleryforpositivepeople or @ziaoshunart.
NOMO Films creates and shapes emotion through cinematic commercials, documentaries, music videos, and films. They’re a sleeves-up studio that defiantly pursues work the world wants to talk about.