What is life like for those who weren't registered at birth, and therefore lack an official identity, even as an adult?

In this haunting, mostly black-and-white video, we are introduced to a young man named Nam (an alias), who has HIV/AIDS and can't access formal health, education or employment sectors due to his lack of papers.

Titled The Ink From My Pen Flows Into a Memory, the film is based on the true story of Nam, who has been "encountering countless obstacles in daily life due to lack of birth certificate and other significant personal documents. It is also the heaviest barrier for him to buy and use social health insurance to save himself from a dangerous and fatal disease – now it is a matter of life or death to a boy not yet twenty years old…"

The three-minute video, directed by Paul Zetter for the Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI), aims to highlight the challenges faced by people who lack personal identity papers, and does so with poetic artistry. 

Check out the movie short film below: