Canadian writer-director Thom Fitzgerald's sweeping 3 NEEDLES journeys across several continents to show just how widespread HIV/AIDS has become in our modern world. Three distinct stories are loosely linked by the narration of Olympia Dukakis, whose character appears in the film's final sequence. In the first, Lucy Liu is a pregnant Chinese woman who makes her living as a blood smuggler. Things turn sour when several donors begin to get sick and die. The second story, set in Montreal, follows a porn actor (Shawn Ashmore) who fakes his blood tests in order to keep working in the industry. But when his scheme is exposed, he is shamed and humiliated. His heartbroken mother (Stockard Channing) takes out an insurance policy and embarks on a darkly comic mission to contract the HIV virus as well. South Africa is the setting for the final tale, where three nuns (Chloe Sevigny, Sandra Oh, and Dukakis) have arrived to help out in the community. But in order to get a local plantation owner to assist one of her patients, Sevigny's character must make the most shameful sacrifice of all.

3 NEEDLES is an ambitious drama featuring beautiful cinematography by Tom Harting. Fitzgerald boldly eschews a more traditional tonal approach by combining seemingly disparate elements of black comedy, graphic content, and straight drama. The result is a broad, expansive commentary on a genuinely tragic situation that has no end in sight.

Theatrical Release: December 1, 2006 (LIMITED)

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio:
(unspecified) - English
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Documentary - 1. CHINA AIDS INITIATIVE With Magic Johnson and Yao Ming
2. HOUSE ON FIRE - AIDS in America
Interviews - Cast
Trailer - Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Features:
Scene Selection

Shawn Ashmore: 
Lucy Liu: Actress, CHARLIE'S ANGELS (2000), CHICAGO (2002)
Stockard Channing: American actress, GREASE
Olympia Dukakis: Oscar Winning American actress, MOONSTRUCK, STEEL MAGNOLIAS
Chloë Sevigny: Actress, BOYS DON'T CRY, KIDS
Sandra Oh: Canadian film and TV actress
Ian Roberts: Actor/"Power Of One"
Gary Farmer: Native American Actor
Sook-Yin Lee: Actor, SHORTBUS, (2006)

Thom Fitzgerald: Director, THE HANGING GARDEN

Thom Fitzgerald: Director, THE HANGING GARDEN

Christophe Beck: 
Trevor Morris: Composer

"3 NEEDLES sustains a mood of sorrowful gravity, bolstered by some powerful performances..."
"[V]isually exquisite..." -- Grade: B+