Tapestries of Hope

Filmmaker Michealene Cristini Risley documents one of the most astonishing and harrowing developments in contemporary Africa: adult men in Zimbabwe infected with the HIV virus or displaying full-blown AIDS are being encouraged by bogus “traditional healers” to rape virgins—even babies—in order to free themselves of the disease. Risley travels to Africa to detail the work of the Girl Child Network (GCN), a Zimbabwean nonprofit organization that provides shelter and education for sexually abused girls. Much of the film focuses on GCN founder Betty Makoni, who works tirelessly to promote female empowerment and to overturn Zimbabwean society's primitive attitudes toward young women and girls. To her credit, Risley offers a very rare view of a politically brutalized nation that has been off-limits to most Western journalists (she was expelled from the country while shooting). Unfortunately, she also decided to follow the example set by the likes of Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, placing herself at the center of the documentary. While there's some justification in her desire to find affinity with the GCN youngsters—Risley states that she was sexually abused as a child—this approach ends up detracting from Makoni's compelling story. Still, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)