Featured Film: A TALE OF TWO TEENS
A Tale of Two Teens is an engaging and informative documentary about the AIDS pandemic in Africa as seen through the eyes of two young girls, an American and South African teenager, featuring the music of the Dave Matthews Band and U2.
The documentary follows Margaret, an American teenager as she travels to South Africa to meet Sine, a 16-year-old girl orphaned when both her parents died of AIDS. Sine lives with her grandfather in the Pholela district of South Africa, the unofficial epicenter of the pandemic. Through the girls' friendship (they bond over the music of Dave Matthews, a South African native), the film explores how AIDS has been able to ravage an entire continent, while a dangerous complacency has developed in America. It looks at the disparities in the girls’ lives, from access to education and health care to their thoughts on boys, sex, and HIV/AIDS.
Infused with a resilient spirit, A Tale of Two Teens offers an accessible and meaningful appreciation of the global AIDS crisis as well as a powerful tool for discussion, awareness, and prevention.
Directed by Geoffrey Poister
Produced by Susan Walker
2005, 34 mins
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Study Guide Available |
This guide was developed in conjunction with doctors and counselors at The Center for HIV/AIDS Care and Research Center at Boston Medical Center. Also includes a Webquest homework assignment.
A Tale of Two Teens is recommended or in use in HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum statewide in Iowa, Arizona, South Dakota, and Minnesota
* Official Selection, Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Amnesty International Campus Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Boston International Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Docupolis, Barcelona, Spain, 2006
"A Tale of Two Teens is recommended without reservation. Students will become cognizant of the impact of AIDS in South Africa and the contrast of cultures dealing with a health crisis." - Educational Media Reviews Online
"In A Tale of Two Teens the audience learns about the many factors that conspire to shorten the average lifespan of Africans by decades. Although the effects of the AIDS crisis are overwhelmingly apparent in South Africa, the film addresses the implications of the virus for American teenagers as well. Complacency is presented as a very real threat, as risky behavior among high school students is on the rise. A surprise twist in the film's final moments reveals the identity of the narrator, an African singer and activist living with HIV who educates others about the importance of abstinence and safe sex. The unifying theme of music is brought full circle as she is shown performing at a shopping mall in Cambridge, reinforcing the idea that there are lessons to be learned in both cultures regarding the AIDS epidemic." - School Library Journal
Visit the Official A Tale of Two Teens website - www.ataleoftwoteens.org