Coming to Say Goodbye: Stories of AIDS in Africa
(30 minutes) Kenya/Tanzania/USA
Directors: John Ankele and Anne Macksoud
Producer: Lawrence M. Rich

Description:

Through stories and interviews with AIDS victims, their families, and the African health professionals who minister to them, Coming to Say Goodbye: Stories of AIDS in Africa presents a personalized journal of the spread of this modern plague. The suffering articulate their plight with eloquence and courage. The caregivers explain the connection between the AIDS crisis in Africa and the broader issues of extreme poverty and lack of access to healthcare. Discussing the underlying structural aspects that impede their work with the sick, they point to excessive debt, the policies of the IMF and World Bank, and drug patent issues that make medications unavailable to the poor. The extraordinary social cost represented in Coming to Say Goodbye challenges viewers to take up the role of global advocate in combating this devastating disease. As one interviewee remarks, "statistics are numbers with tears washed off of them."

Biography:

Anne Macksoud and John Ankele have collaborated on film and video documentaries for more than fifteen years. Their work has been broadcast on PBS stations, ABC-TV, and cable networks and has been shown at the Margaret Mead and Florence Film festivals, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian. Arms for the Poor was screened on Capitol Hill for members of congress and at a documentary film series sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts. Anne and John have just completed a documentary on globalization and hunger for Maryknoll World Productions and a PBS special Writing Down Your Life which documents a writing program for elders (begun by Dr. Thomas Cole) that helps them to "find their voices through Life Story writing."

Contact Information:

Darlene R. Torres
Maryknoll World Productions
P. O. Box 308
Maryknoll, NY 10545-0308
E-mail: dtorres@maryknoll.org
URL: www.maryknollworld.org