VHS only
25 cassette series, 2002, Lesotho / Mozambique / Namibia / South Africa / Zambia / Zimbabwe Series Producer: Don Edkins, Day Zero Film and Video in English and multiple African Languages with English subtitles
ABOUT THE FILM
CRITICAL COMMENT
?The Steps for the Future project offers a profound example of the steps which a future applied visual anthropology should follow. The thoughtfulness and care with which these crucial interventions were made and then evaluated was essential for their success and an inspiring model for those in anthropology who will follow.?
Society for Visual Anhropology, American Anthropological Association
?The Rockie Awards honors Steps for the Future and the filmmakers of Southern Africa for their vision, their professionalism and their bravery in creating this extraordinary collection of films . . . It is an inspiration to the world.?
Banff 2002 Television Festival
?Steps for the Future is that rare combination of social activism and good story telling. I have used it with great success in anthropology classes to show life in southern Africa and filmmaking classes to show different narrative techniques.?
Southern Africa is the new center of the global AIDS crisis and it is spreading faster there than anywhere else. South Africa is the country with the largest number of HIV+ people in the world causing a drop in overall life expectancy, devastation and a drain on communities for years to come.
From a special collaboration between filmmakers from Southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Angola, Lesotho) and broadcasters from the North (Finland, Canada, Denmark, France) comes a unique collection of 33 films (in 25 cassettes). Steps for the Future presents how individuals are coping with their lives and how societies are having to change under the impact of HIV/AIDS through stories that are positive, provocative, humorous and brave. Funds generated from the project will be used in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness through distribution of the films, further training of emerging filmmakers, and social programs in Southern Africa.
The films examine a myriad of subjects: AIDS activism, religion, sexuality, mother-to-child transmission, migrant workers, gay rights, AIDS orphans and sex workers. The collection also features a variety of genres and styles: documentaries, investigative stories, short fiction, experimental films, music videos and public service announcements. Several of the films have won prizes at international film festivals, have been broadcast throughout Europe, Canada and Southern Africa, as well as been exhibited in community settings and the remotest rural areas.
This special collection presents how the region's people are living with HIV, not dying from AIDS. Steps for the Future should be of interest to those working in African Studies, Public Health and Health Education, Women's and Gender Studies, Anthropology, Human Rights and Cinema Studies.
Find out more about AIDS in Southern Africa at Treatment Action Campaign online - www.tac.org.za
