Theater as Catharsis in Grappling with HIV/AIDS
Most of Hope For Children’s daylong celebrations include somber testimonies from community members who have suffered with HIV/AIDS and plays by the youth about fictionalized family dramas where HIV/AIDS is a strong theme. During the Christmas celebration this past weekend, one play enacted the tragedy of a mother who dies from AIDS because her negligent children do not take her to receive medical attention in time. The play moved many in the audience, including the small children, to tears. While this might seem out of place for a Christmas celebration, the ritual is deeply cathartic for all those involved and reminds attendees of the hard work that the community is engaged in with the help of Hope for Children.
As part of my Fulbright project here in Ethiopia, I am exploring the influence these community plays have on the films of Sudden Flowers Productions. Participation in plays at Hope For Children is one way that members of Sudden Flowers have developed the sophisticated sense of personal narrative that they draw on to produce their films. One of the films will be screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival at the end of this month. “Fighting With Father” is a true story about Yonas’ struggle with his mother’s death and his father’s alcoholism. Congratulations to Sudden Flowers Productions and director Daniel D. Negatu in bringing this story to an international audience.
