Lost Generation

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The northern hemisphere seems virtually oblivious to the AIDS epidemic raging in South Africa, where one out of every five people are HIV positive and three million children have been orphaned by AIDS. KwaZulu Natal is only 20 kilometers from Durban, where the world soccer championships will be held in 2010 - and 60 percent of its population is HIV positive. And yet Europe seems virtually oblivious to the AIDS pandemic in South Africa. Millions of children have already lost their parents to the deadly virus; most are left to fend for themselves and depend on the help of aid organizations for their survival. In just a few years, there will be virtually no grandparents left in South Africa, as the generation of those now in their thirties and forties is being wiped out by AIDS. With two examples standing in for three million, our film tries to give viewers an impression of the reality of children living in so-called "child-headed households." The documentary footage testifies impressively to the courage and resourcefulness these children display in their struggle to survive under harsh conditions. It is juxtaposed with interviews with a social worker who is forced to stand by helplessly as teenagers become infected with the virus and with a mother with AIDS fighting for her life so she won't be forced to abandon her two children to their fate. Rather than looking for easy answers, the film does something far bolder: It simply presents the subject in all its complexity, with all its inherent contradictions and the issues of stigmatization, dire poverty, hopelessness, and cultural influences it involves. It gives a voice to four individuals who stand up to the hardships life has thrown their way with moving courage.