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Films:
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Body &
Soul
2001, 52 min
Country: South Africa
Director: Melody Emmett
Language: English, Sotho and Tswana with English subtitles
REVIEW: HIV/AIDS is forcing religious leaders
to reassess their traditional attitudes about sexuality in a
country where 90% of the population claim one sort of religious
affiliation or another. During the struggle against apartheid
the churches played a leading role in the fight for freedom.
Today millions of people are in a desperate situation because
of HIV/AIDS. What role do the clergy play in this new struggle
for human rights? Body and Soul looks at the attitudes of three
main religions in South Africa through people on the ground
who have to interpret and practice religion in terms of today
's realities. |
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Breaking The
Silence
1996, 56 min
Country: South Africa
Studio: Deborah d'Entrement and Sylvia Spring, Making WAVES
Productions in collaboration with the Canadian International
Development Agency
Director: Deborah d'Entrement
Language: English
REVIEW: The full dimensions and the many faces
of the AIDS epidemic sweeping sub-Sahara Af ica is shown in
the movie Breaking the Silen e. But the movie also tells of
the difficult but attainable gender equality that can help curtail
the epidemic. Sub-Sahara, Africa has 10 percent of the world’s
population, but 2/3 of the world’s HIV infected population,
notes Renee Sabatier, a coordinator for Canada Public Health
Association’s Southern Africa IDS Training Programme (SAT).
The most vulnerable are the people with the least control of
their life; African women, says Sabatier. “Many women
are infected by unfaithful husbands. Taboos which prohibit women
from speaking to their husbands about condom use, being monogamous,
and sexuality in general have become “life threatening.”
The fight against AIDS must be a fight for the attainment of
the most basic human rights for women, Sabatier says. The empowerment
of women is the only thing that will control this disease, says
Priscilla Misihairabwi, an AIDS activist in Harare, Zimbabwe.
“I’ve given up on our generation,” says Misihairabwi.
“But I have a lot of hope for young people,” she
says. Young women must learn that they control their bodies
and their lives, says Anna Banda, a young AIDS activist. Africans
have the horrible distinction of being the pioneers in the struggle
against AIDS, says Sabatier. Although 12 million of the about
20 million people infected ith HIV live in sub-Sahara Africa,
the region gets only three percent of the resources allocated
to fight the disease. The intent of the Canadian SAT program
is to change this, said Sabatier. The intent of the program
is to coordinate international and national efforts and fight
AIDS in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Awards: Best Director and Best Director of
Photography, 1996 Reel Awards/Canada; Documentary-Social/Political
Silver plaque, 1996 Intercom Festival, Chicago.
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Caring
Completely
1995, 20 min
Country: Uganda
Studio: JHU Center for Communication programs DISH Project
Director: John Riber
Language: English
REVIEW: Sister Anne is skeptical when her friend
and former nursing classmate, Jennifer, explains the virtues
of the new system of integrating reproductive health services.
"Now all reproductive health services are provided on request
any day of the week," explains Jennifer. It sounds impossible,
but after spending a day at Jennifer's clinic, Anne is convinced
that integrated care really is better for both clinic staff
and clients.
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Challenges
in AIDS Counseling
1993, 25 min
Country: Zambia
Studio: Media for Development Trust for USAID/Lusaka, AIDSCOM,
JHU and DSR
Director: John Riber
Language: English
REVIEW: Counselling is a vital weapon in the
fight against AIDS. But AIDS counselling is not easy. In crowded
and difficult environments counsellors face the hard tasks of
telling clients they have HIV infection, of discussing sensitive
personal issues, and of handling personal stress. Challenges
In AIDS Counselling dramatically illustrates these common problems
-- and possible solutions -- to help counsellors work better.
This Zambian video presents a workshop of AIDS counsellors who
have gotten together to discuss common problems. It is a “trigger
film” designed to be stopped several times for discussion.
Awards: 1993 British Medical Association and 1994 International
Health and Medical Film Festival. |
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Common Threads:
Stories from the Quilt
1989, 79 min
Country: United States of America
Studio: New Yorker Films
Director: Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
Language: English
REVIEW: In the late 1970’s, a mysterious
new disease began infecting and killing gay men. Common Threads
tells the powerful story of the first decade of the AIDS epidemic,
as told through the lives of five very diverse individuals who
shared a common fate. Using the monumental NAMES Project AIDS
Memorial Quilt as its central metaphor, the film weaves together
personal memories and television news stories to expose the
U.S. government’s failure to respond to the growing epidemic,
and the vibrant protest movement that was born as a result.
From the Olympic athlete to the inner-city recovering drug addict,
from the conservative naval commander to the New York gay activist
to the 11-year-old suburban boy with hemophilia, the film uses
intimate details to tell an epic story of love, loss, anger
and healing.
Award: Academy Award, Best Documentary Feature 1989 |
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Condoms, Fish,
and Circus Tricks
2000, 47 min
Country: Malawi/South Africa and Zambia
Director: Brenda and Robert Rooney
Language: English
REVIEW: Shot in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia,
this is a compelling documentary on the HIV/AIDS epidemic that
is ravaging Southern Africa. It takes an intimate look at the
people who are dying, those who are caring for them, and why
this disease has had such a devastating impact on African society.
In a remote village in Malawi, the struggle against AIDS is
led by local volunteers who care for the orphan children and
those that are dying, without the medicines, clean water, or
even rubber gloves. In a fishing village on Zambia_s Kafue Flats
the local fishermen earn their livelihood by selling their catch.
When women don_t have the money to pay, the men often trade
their fish for sex. The result has been a huge surge of AIDS
patients, overwhelming the local hospital which has only three
doctors and three hundred beds.
The film reveals a "quiet revolution" is underway
as young people are talking about sex and challenging traditional
concepts of sexuality. Through performances in a street circus
young people are spreading the message of AIDS prevention. It
is these young people that offer hope for Africa_s future.
"Highly Recommended. A well crafted documentary about
an important topic." Patricia B. McGee, Coordinator
of Media Services, Tennessee Technical University for Educational
Media Reviews on Line |
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Dancing
On The Edge
2001, 42 min
Country: South Africa
Director: Karen Boswall
Language: Chuabo and Portuguese with English subtitles
REVIEW: Dancing on the Edge is set in rural
Mozambique, where traditional gender roles and poverty influence
the fight to contain the spread of AIDS. Antonietta is HIV-positive
and works as an AIDS counselor in the city. But she takes her
one healthy daughter to a remote village for initiation into
sexuality. After a week of rituals and lessons on how to please
a man, the daughter will become a woman and consequently be
put at risk to contract HIV. Antonietta struggles with the contradictions
of maintaining traditional customs while adapting to the reality
of the modern world. |
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Dreams
Of A Good Life
&
Gotta Give
2001, 20 min
Country: South Africa
Director: Bridget Pickering and Eddie Edwards
Language: English
REVIEW:
Dreams of a Good Life (Bridget Pickering, 15 minutes)
A film of laughter, fear, and the solace of sharing. Five women
talk about life, love and how their dreams for the future have
changed since finding out they are HIV positive. The women now
examine their relationships with men more openly than ever before.
A film with and about HIV+ women.
Gotta Give (Eddie Edwards, 5 minutes)
A music video featuring Moodphase 5ive and Godessa with a message
for young women: take control and use your power to negotiate
your relationships. This upbeat film uses a popular form to
promote the empowerment of female identity. |
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Duara &
Sound the Drum
2002, 28 min
Country: Tanzania & USA
Studio: Daniel Boyd, Hugh Canada, Hamza Abdullah and Mike Riley
Director: Richard Ndunguru
Language: Swahili with English subtitles
REVIEW: The pilot project for the West Virginia
State College – University of Dar es Salaam filmmaking
program, TeleDrum, “Duara” tells the story of two
love struck schoolmates: Yusufu and Mariam, who, oblivious in
their love, face the fateful consequences of opening their intimate
duara (circle in Kiswahili). With the support of a Fulbright
Alumni Initiative Award, this short-feature was written and
produced by filmmaking students from the Fine and Performing
Arts Department of the University of Dar es Salaam and West
Virginia State College’s Communications Department to
complement AIDS prevention campaigns in Africa. Utilizing elements
of the African oral tradition in the filmmaking style, the film,
while set in Tanzania (and shot entirely on location), presents
a theme relevant to young adults worldwide.
Awards: Special Jury Recognition Zanzibar
International Film Festival; Achievement in Technical Excellence
(Sound The Drum) West Virginia International Film Festival;
Best Short Feature (Duara) West Virginia Filmmakers Festival;
Best Educational Documentary (Sound The Drum) West Virginia
Filmmakers Festival; 2003 Francois Manchuelle Award Association
of African Studies Programs. Selected for: Cucaloris International
Film Festival, Wilmington, NC; Masters Film Series, Czech Republic
Academy of Performing Art (Czech National Film School, FAMU,
Prague).
TeleDrum proclaimed a “Program of Humanitarian Distinction”
by West Virginia Governor Bob Wise |
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Eclipse
2001, 25 min
Country: Mozambique
Director: Orlando Mesquita
Language: Xitswa with English subtitles
REVIEW: Eclipse is a dreamlike documentary
depicting the total blackout of four girls' lives, eclipsed
by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is a story about four sisters,
Laura, Enguinesse, Fátima and Luisa -the oldest sixteen
and the youngest nine. They are AIDS orphans living in the Mozambican
town of Chimoio. Their mother died of AIDS and their father
disappeared, probably to commit suicide in a nearby place of
spirits. The film documents the girls' day to day struggle as
they try to make ends meet by re-selling produce they have bought
from the market. |
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