It’s My Life
Synopsis
Zackie Achmat is an AIDS activist who refuses to take anti-retrovirals until they are made freely available. After defeating the multi-national drug companies, he takes on the South African government for its confusing policies around HIV/AIDS. When Zackie gets ill, his provocative position is not one all his friends and colleagues support. Everyone wants to know why he refuses to take the medicines that would let him lead a healthier life. Shot over five months, personal and public images are interwoven to provide an intimate look at an internationally profiled defiance campaign and the complexities of its leading figure.
Festivals
Red Ribbon for the Special Jury Citation, Amsterdam Int'l Documentary Festival, 2001
Award of the National Committee against AIDS, Ouagadougou Panafrican Film and Television Festival, 2003
Special Award for Human Rights Awareness, Prague One World International Human Rights Film Festival, 2002
Prix des Droits Humains at Cinema Africain et Creole, Montreal, Canada 2002
Award at the Vue De Afrique festival, Canada, 2002
IDFA, in the feature length competition for the Joris Ivens prize
Awards
CISMA Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2001
Brussels Gay & Lesbian Festival, Belgium, 2002
Double Take Documentary Film Festival, North Carolina, USA, 2002
African Studies Association Film Festival, USA, 2002 & 2003
Torino Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Italy, 2001
Paris Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, France, 2001
Festival Cinema Africano Milano, Italy, 2002
DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival, USA, 2002
San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, USA, 2002
OutFest, Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, USA, 2002
Vision du Reel, Switzerland, 2002
Norwegian Documentary Festival, 2002
Inside Out Film Festival Toronto, Canada, 2002
Human Rights Festival, Seoul, South Korea, 2002
Afrovibes Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2002
Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester, UK, 2002
The New York International Documentary Festival, USA, 2002
Durban International Film Festival, South Africa, 2002
Rio African Film Festival (Festival African Visions), Brazil, 2003
Act Up Drase Hellas, Athens, Greece, 2004
Jakarta Gay & Lesbian Festival, Indonesia, 2004
International Human Rights Festival Kiev Ukraine, 2004
Currently not for distribution in South Africa