LAUSR

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the politics of representing HIV/AIDS in the 2011 documentary The Lucky One (宠儿), jointly made by Chinese filmmaker and queer activist He Xiaopei and Zhang Xi, a woman living with HIV/AIDS. The film was made using a participatory approach as Zhang took up the video camera to document her own life. By situating the film in the global development industry and focusing on the political economy of the filmmaking process, this article examines the complex power relations embedded in how people living with HIV/AIDS are represented on screen and in the context of the development industry. Informed by critical scholarship in and a queer approach to development studies, this article identifies strengths and weaknesses of the participatory approach, together with the role of media and communication technologies, in international development and health communication. This article hopes to present a nuanced understanding of empowerment and agency through studying the use of participatory videos in development projects.