Living with Slim: Kids Talk About HIV/AIDS

In filmmaker Sam Kauffmann's Living with Slim: Kids Talk About HIV/AIDS, seven African children (their nationalities are not disclosed) talk about what it's like to be a child with HIV/AIDS (in Africa, nicknamed “slim”). Many speak English (subtitles are provided for those who don't), most were infected at birth, some have already lost at least one parent to the disease, and some are orphaned and living with relatives. Ranging in age from 6-17, the children's soulful eyes and heartbreaking tales are both moving and disturbing (in a sad postscript, we learn that one girl, 13-year-old Dianah, died six months after filming ended). While the interview questions are the same from child to child, (i.e. “How old were you when you found out?” “Who told you the news?”), the somewhat static format is enlivened with scenes from the children's homes and daily lives. Winner of a 2005 CINE Golden Eagle Award for Best Documentary Short, this is recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Reagan)