Themba Screenings

Fighting AIDS with Stefanie Sycholt's movie "Themba – A Boy Called Hope"

Since the release of Stefanie Sycholt's award-winning film "THEMBA - A Boy Called Hope," the Cinema for Peace Foundation has been actively promoting it through their own screenings and by supporting screening tours in South Africa and Zambia.

"THEMBA" tells the story of a South African boy aspiring to become a football player despite a devastating revelation: both he and his mother are infected with HIV. More than just a soccer film, "THEMBA" delivers a universal message of hope. This inspiring and entertaining movie serves as a powerful tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa, where over 10% of the population is infected, yet discussing the infection remains taboo.

“THEMBA tells my story. My mother got HIV from her new boyfriend who came from the Eastern Cape. She got very sick and told me it was TB. [...] I asked her if she had an HIV test at the clinic. She said she didn’t have HIV. [...] When my mother died, someone phoned from the Eastern Cape and told me that she and her boyfriend both had AIDS. I wish she had told me she had HIV. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, and that I did not care if she had HIV. [...] Please let other children see this film. Please let people like my mother see this film.” - Zanele, age 17, Mbekweni Community, Paarl.

Since October 2010, THEMBA has been screened in over 95 rural and semi-rural communities, reaching nearly 12,500 people. These screenings, followed by discussions, have taken place across various areas in South Africa, primarily targeting young people to help break the stigma and stereotypes associated with HIV/AIDS.

Children from South Africa have sent numerous enthusiastic “thank you” letters to the Cinema for Peace Foundation after watching THEMBA.

The goal is to continue supporting and raising funds for this campaign to ensure the movie THEMBA and its message of hope and understanding about the highly taboo subject of AIDS reaches as many young people in South Africa as possible.

The Cinema for Peace Foundation is currently negotiating with its established South African partners for a new THEMBA screening tour in rural areas across South Africa. This tour aims to reach new audiences, building on the success of the previous tours in 2010 and 2011. For more information on the tours, please read the project background below.

Additionally, we are working on securing new partners for tours and repeated educational screenings in several other countries, including Switzerland, Uganda, Mali, and Nigeria.