Weekend At Mafeteng - Positive
Quick Thoughts: Weekend At Mafeteng (Mafelo a Beke Mafeteng, 2012)
Made by Neville Jozi, this is the Lesotho film of the series.
Weekend at Mafeteng is a short documentary composed of a few conversations between a niece and aunt. The pair are HIV positive and converse about just this; about the stigma around the virus and contraception, the troubles of getting treatment and about how difficult it can be to avoid the virus. A significant focus is the place of women in Lesotho, how vulnerable they are to contracting the virus due to its prevalence and the pressures and promiscuity of men. The documentary draws attention to the fact that Lesotho, as a nation, has the second highest prevalence of HIV in the world. According to avert.org, just under a quarter of the population is thought to have contracted the disease with women being disproportionately effected (HIV prevalence is 28% in women and 18% in men) and sex workers (which, it is implied, the niece is) being the most vulnerable group - it is estimated that 79% of sex workers have the virus. The documentary is then a personal and open incite into both two individual lives and a significant socio-cultural issue in Lesotho. A more complex discussion on sex work, its part in the spread of the virus and its place in Lesotho culture is avoided almost entirely, but, for what it does delve in to, Weekend at Mafeteng is insightful. The documentary can be watched here:
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Weekend at Mafeteng is a short documentary composed of a few conversations between a niece and aunt. The pair are HIV positive and converse about just this; about the stigma around the virus and contraception, the troubles of getting treatment and about how difficult it can be to avoid the virus. A significant focus is the place of women in Lesotho, how vulnerable they are to contracting the virus due to its prevalence and the pressures and promiscuity of men. The documentary draws attention to the fact that Lesotho, as a nation, has the second highest prevalence of HIV in the world. According to avert.org, just under a quarter of the population is thought to have contracted the disease with women being disproportionately effected (HIV prevalence is 28% in women and 18% in men) and sex workers (which, it is implied, the niece is) being the most vulnerable group - it is estimated that 79% of sex workers have the virus. The documentary is then a personal and open incite into both two individual lives and a significant socio-cultural issue in Lesotho. A more complex discussion on sex work, its part in the spread of the virus and its place in Lesotho culture is avoided almost entirely, but, for what it does delve in to, Weekend at Mafeteng is insightful. The documentary can be watched here:
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Previous post:
How Cinema Works (Expanded)
Next post:
Illang: The Wolf Brigade - Tragic, Hero
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
