In the Shadow of the Sun

Harry Freeland's troubling documentary focuses on a lesser-known skin-color tragedy being played out in black Africa—namely, the plight of albinos, who have long been feared and treated as outcasts by tribal society (and sometimes killed). In recent years, however—particularly in areas of Tanzania, where the albino population is estimated at 170,000—native witch doctors have spread the myth that albino body parts bring good fortune and harbor magic medicinal ingredients. As a result, albino graves are routinely disinterred, and the living dwell in fear of murder and/or dismemberment at the hands of desperate or greedy neighbors. Despite official government disapproval, albinos have essentially become refugees in their own land, living apart and attending segregated schools. Cameras follow albino activist Josephat Torner on a grassroots campaign across the countryside to educate the xenophobic and superstitious on the proper science of albinism. But many Tanzanian villagers remain less than sympathetic, while one unimpressed witch doctor declares that Torner's limbs will be a valuable commodity (during the course of the filming, an attempt is made to abduct Torner). The question of who is exactly profiting off the grisly limb trade remains a grim enigma, but one interviewee—a single-armed victim who survived being cut up—suspects that his father sold him out to attackers. A powerful film about a disturbing situation, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)