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S Y N O P S I S:
In post-apartheid South
Africa, life has gotten better, but now there is a disease
that has hold on a vanishing population. Sixty-three percent
of the world's population infected with HIV/AIDS lives
in the country, and in Kwazulu Natal, where the rate of
infection in women is twice that of men, one out of every
six people is HIV-positive.
Thing With No Name follows two Zulu women as they
begin rigorous and oftentimes confusing antiretroviral
drug therapy. As these women invite us into their homes
and share their stories, we witness firsthand the hope
these drugs offer. Yet the overwhelming reality is the
lack of resources and support available to them undermines
their fight to survive in a community where orphans outnumber
their counterparts and funerals are daily occurrences.
This beautifully shot documentary intimately displays
the humanity surrounding this astounding epidemic and
proves that those suffering are more than mere statistics.
-- Abby Kavanaugh
C O N T A C T:
F A C E B O O K
Find an online journal
of the film's production in South Africa here
F I L M M A K E R
: B I OS :
A New York based filmmaker,
Sarah Friedland (director/producer) received
her BA from Sarah Lawrence College in 2003 where she studied
film and sociology. She also attended the International
School of Film and Television in San Antonio de los Baños,
Cuba, and has worked with several filmmakers in the New
York area and abroad to produce socially minded and creative
films.
Credits:
Co-Director with Vanessa Woods on Breath on the Mirror
Principal Editor on Free to Fly: the US–
Cuba Link, a documentary by the award-winning
director Estela Bravo, La Memoria es Vaga by
Katie Halper, Las diarias porcelanas by La Vaughn
Belle, Assistant Editor on The Life and Times of Frida
Kahlo by Amy Stechler
A San Fransisco based
filmmaker/designer, Esy Casey (director
of photography/producer) graduated with honors from Parsons
School of Design in 2003. She has since been invited to
photograph for health and environmental advocacy projects
from Andalucía, Spain to the Navajo Reservation
at Chinle, and exhibits internationally. Her design work
has been featured in publications for Bloomsbury USA/UK,
Henry Holt and Company, Weldon Owen, and the Amnesty International
Firefly Project.
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a complete description of the film here |
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A D V I S O R Y
B O A R D :
Peter
Piot Director
of UNAIDS
Zachie Achmat Executive Director
of The
Treatment Action Campaign, the most prominent
activist organization in South Africa
Gerald Friedland Director of AIDS
Program at the Yale School of Medicine in
Connecticut
Wafaa El-Sadr Director of the Division
of Infectious Diseases at Harlem Hospital,
and Professor of Clinical Medicine and Epidemiology
at the Mailman School of Public Health at
Columbia University, NYC
Judith Auerbach Vice President for
Policy and Prevention at the American Foundation
for AIDS Research in Washington, DC
Professor Hoosian Coovadia Victor Daitz Chair
in HIV/AIDS Research, and Professor of Pediatrics
at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine
in Durban, South Africa
Professor Umesh Lalloo Professor
of Medicine, Enhancing Care Initiative at
the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine in
Durban, South Africa
Phumzile Ndlovu Outreach Worker for
the HIVAN Center for HIV/AIDS Networking in
Durban, South Africa, Home Based Care Workers,
and Organizer for the Youth Center in the
Drakensburg, South Africa
Robert Sebler AIDS Researcher at
Columbia University, NYC
Tony Moll Physician Director of the
Philanjalo, Church of Scotland Hospital in
Tugela Ferry, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Demetria Royals Head of the Film
Department at Sarah Lawrence College and Documentary
Filmmaker for PBS and HBO
Jill Krueger Director of the recent
documentary Deadly Myths, about the
myths surrounding HIV/AIDS in South Africa
Renata Simone Documentary Filmmaker
for WGBH and Frontline. Simone is
currently producing a four hour documentary
series for Frontline about the history
of HIV/AIDS
Amy Stechler Documentary Filmmaker
who has produced multiple works for PBS, including
writing and co-producing early Ken Burns films
such as The Brooklyn Bridge
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