Kalel, 15 is the story of a boy who looks in the mirror to assess his attributes. But unlike boys his age, he doesn't do it for vanity, but to survive. Surviving in a dysfunctional family, surviving with HIV, surviving others' judgement, surviving poverty, surviving being abandoned, surviving institutional indifference. Behind his impassive mask, Kalel's motto is to survive with dignity, the dignity he gives himself, not the dignity that results from others' endorsement.

His story is a sad one, but the way it is told doesn't want to bring tears to our eyes, we are here to contemplate someone else life w/o judgement. It's a life journey whose details I'll forget, but when I'll encounter a boy his age on the street with that same gaze, I'll wonder if all is well in his life.