Song of the Soul: Stories of Hospice in South Africa

When Janet Parrott arrived in South Africa in 2009 to shoot this profoundly moving documentary, an estimated 5.6 million residents were living with HIV and AIDS. Relying primarily on the first-person accounts of nurses, social workers, patients and their family members (including children), Parrott provides a glimpse of how the country's urban and rural hospices are providing a lifeline for people who struggle to stay alive amidst crushing poverty and a continuing social stigma against those with the disease. Despite the odds, the caregivers push on with indefatigable spirit, and their energy empowers many individuals to find new courage and strength in dealing with their illness. Song of the Soul features tragic scenes, most notably during a visit with an elderly woman who must care for her six grandchildren because all of her own children have died from AIDS; in weak health herself, she cries that she can barely keep her family together on her meager savings. But the documentary also offers a stirring sense of hope for a better future, thanks to the South African government's acknowledgment (albeit belatedly) of the crisis, and a commitment to improved education and wider availability of antiretroviral drugs. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)