NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE THREE AMIGOS TO SCREEN AT XV INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE 
Humour and non-threatening approach to AIDS prevention education gaining wide-spread support 

OTTAWA, CANADA, June 22, 2004 - The Three Amigos, a series of twenty (20) world-class animated 
Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) designed to entrench the use of condoms to stop the spread of 
HIV/AIDS throughout the world, is to screen several times at the XV International AIDS Conference in 
Bangkok. It is the only films or shorts screening everyday at the AIDS Film Festival.  The PSA’s will be 
presented at:

*	At the AIDS Film Festival at IMPACT on July 12 at 2:10pm, July 13 at 4:10pm, July 14 at 1:00pm 
	and July 15 at 2:25pm.
*	at the Lido Cinema, Siam Square, on July 13 at 6pm 
*	on July 14, at Noon to 2pm in front of a poster of the Project at the IMPACT Exhibition Center, Hall 
	3 - Track E
*	at the Goethe Institut, Soi Attakarnprasit, Sathorn Rd Soi 1, on July 15 at 7pm  
*	at the Canadian Booth continuously.

“We are thrilled that these spots received such recognition,” said Firdaus Kharas, Ottawa, Canada-based 
creator of The Three Amigos. “I strongly believe that mass education will significantly impact AIDS 
prevention. We must succeed in slowing down the rate of HIV infection, which is now at over 5 million people 
a year.”   With assistance from Foreign Affairs Canada, Mr. Kharas will attend the AIDS Conference and will 
be speaking at all four venues on the making and availability of The Three Amigos.

In addition to being recognized for its excellence in media communications, The Three Amigos series has 
been gaining widespread support for its humour and non-threatening approach to behaviour modification. 
The campaign has the strong support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and has already received several 
awards, including two recently-conferred Golden Reels (Gold). 

Recent articles have said, “A ground-breaking HIV/AIDS prevention strategy” Africa Film & TV; 
“They’re hard to ignore” Maclean’s magazine (Canada); “World-class animated PSAs. This is a highly 
effective HIV/AIDS prevention strategy” UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; “Comic 
condoms get message across” The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); “AIDS cartoon is a blast” The Star (South 
Africa); “Three Amigos blast off” Screen Africa;  “Met with near-universal enthusiasm” The Independent 
(United Kingdom).

The Three Amigos has been produced by over 80 volunteers in Canada, India and South Africa. The PSA’s 
are 60, 30, 20 and 15 seconds each.  Featuring three animated (2D) condom characters called Shaft, 
Stretch and Dick, the PSA’s use comedy as a medium.  The PSA’s are currently being dubbed into 50 
languages, making 1000 spots available for use through-out the world.  

The PSA’s are available free to broadcasters and NGO’s and community groups.  Further information is 
available at www.thethreeamigos.org.

For additional information and interviews please contact: 

Firdaus J. Kharas Tel: (1)(613) 820-6121 Fax: (1)(613) 820-4679 e-mail:info@thethreeamigos.org.