Max, a cars seller, live for the sake of entertainment and risk, without thinking about the danger of HIV/AIDS. Lera, TV presenter, believes that everyone is responsible for his love. Nightclub barman does not believe that HIV/AIDS can affect him personally, and never tested on principle...

All of them - heroes of the film 'Embrace me', the shooting of which began on 4 November in Kyiv. The characters are fictitious, but everyone can recognize himself in one of them. Matches with reality are not accidental. The film is created in the international campaign MTV Staying Alive: Ignite in collaboration with the Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. The purpose of the project is to make actual the HIV/AIDS among young people in our country.               

Reducing the spread of HIV infection among young people - is one of the priorities for the international community. Project Staying Alive: Ignite helps its solution - it's an international initiative MTV, in cooperation with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which covers more than 150 countries. This year the focus of Staying Alive: Ignite is Ukraine - a country with the highest rates of spread of HIV/AIDS in Europe. In our country about 1.6% of the adult population is already infected. And 80% of them are young people.

Awareness of young people about HIV/AIDS is a central aspect of overcoming the epidemic. Therefore, participants Staying Alive: Ignite! speak with youth in her own language, offering the necessary knowledge to make an conscious choice of behavior and lifestyles.

Olena Sakovich, Youth & Adolescent Development Officer UNICEF:

- Young people in Ukraine are in the focus of the HIV/AIDS now, so it is very important for them to observe the rules of safe behavior. Testing for HIV should become a regular practice for every modern man. Such testing - confidential and accompanied by pre- and post-test consulting. It is also important to remember the main ways of transmission of the HIV virus - infected through injecting drug use and unprotected sex.                  

MTV Ukraine and UNICEF create product, keep youth from being indifferent to the problem of HIV/AIDS. The film 'Embrace me' is a true-to-life story about the lives of young people of our country, made by the talented Ukrainian director Lyubomir Kobylchuk. Along with professional actors roles in 'Embrace Me' will play Ukrainian Stars: stylist Olga Navrocka, singer Kasha Saltsova and boxer Volodymyr Virchis.   

Opportunity to get the role in the film was for ordinary Ukrainians: open castings were held for everyone. More than 60 competitors have sent videos, which have expressed their opinions about HIV/AIDS and ways of overcoming it, and also more than 100 young people took part in fotocasting on the popular youth resource www.nightlife.ua. The winners of the casting are Karina Nightingale and Alexander Sernyak, now they are involved in the shooting.              

Andrey Urenov, Head of Production and Programming MTV Ukraine:

- MTV creates a way of life of millions of young people around the world. Aware of our responsibilities, we are implementing an international project Staying Alive: Ignite in Ukraine, because the AIDS epidemic among young people in our country has become rampant. This awareness will help save the lives of our young audience, that is why we strive to be heard.

TV-premiere film is scheduled for December 1, 2009 and to coincide with World AIDS Day.