Fig Trees
{{About|the documentary film|the plant|Ficus|other uses|Fig Tree (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Fig Trees
| image =
| alt =
| caption = Screenshot
| director = John Greyson
| producer = John Greyson
| writer = John Greyson
| starring =
| music = David Wall
| cinematography = Ali Kazimi
| editing = Jared Raab
| studio = Greyzone
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|2009|2|9|Berlinale}}
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Fig Trees is a 2009 Canadian operatic documentary film written and directed by John Greyson. It follows South African AIDS activist Zackie Achmat and Canadian AIDS activist Tim McCaskell as they fight for access to treatment for HIV/AIDS. It was also inspired by Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson's opera Four Saints in Three Acts. The film premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary.
Background
Zackie Achmat is a South African HIV-positive activist who founded the Treatment Action Campaign in 1998. The organization focuses on access to drug treatment for HIV/AIDS patients who cannot afford private health care. Achmat refused to take medication himself until the South African government made antiretroviral treatments available through public sector hospitals. Tim McCaskell is a Canadian activist who founded the AIDS Action Now! organization, and has campaigned for better access to treatment.{{Citation | title = Fig Trees | newspaper = Mix 22 | publisher = Clear Channel Communications | date = November 11–22, 2009 | url = http://www.mixnyc.org/schedule-fig-trees.php | accessdate = April 23, 2010 | archive-date = June 13, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100613070358/http://mixnyc.org/schedule-fig-trees.php | url-status = dead }}
Director John Greyson has been involved in AIDS activism since the 1980s. In 2001, he and musician David Wall had the idea to write an opera about Achmat's treatment strike after a piece on him appeared in The New York Times.{{Citation |title=John Greyson opera Fig Trees tackles AIDS activism |date=May 21, 2009 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/john-greyson-opera-fig-trees-tackles-aids-activism-1.837270 |newspaper=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524011124/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/05/21/greyson-opera.html |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |archive-date=2009-05-24 |url-status=live |access-date=April 23, 2010}} The work originally took the form of an eight-part video installation.{{Cite book | last = Melnyk | first = George | title = Great Canadian Film Directors | publisher = University of Alberta | year = 2007 | page = 142 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yidsZH2gJRAC&pg=PA142 | isbn = 978-0-88864-479-4}} It was inspired by the 1920s opera Four Saints in Three Acts by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein.
Content
The film features documentary footage and interviews with Achmat and McCaskell, as well as Gugu Dlamini, Stephen Lewis, Simon Nkoli, interspersed with operatic performances. Fictional elements feature Gertrude Stein writing an opera about Achmat and McCaskell.{{Citation | last = Deming | first = Mark | title = Fig Trees > Plot synopsis | newspaper = Allmovie | publisher = Rovi Corporation | url = http://www.allmovie.com/work/fig-trees-483494 | accessdate =April 24, 2010}} It is narrated by a singing albino squirrel.
Release and reception
Fig Trees premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) on February 9, 2009.{{Citation |last=Knegt |first=Peter |title=Fonda, Loach and Klein Among Those Joining Protest Against TIFF |date=September 3, 2009 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/09/03/fonda_loach_and_klein_among_those_joining_protest_against_tiff/ |newspaper=indieWIRE |publisher=SnagFilms |accessdate=April 23, 2010}}{{Dead url|date=December 2023}} It had been accepted as a rough cut and finished shortly before the festival.{{Citation | last = Buck | first = Naomi | title = Canadians come out strong at Berlinale | newspaper = The Globe and Mail | publisher = CTVglobemedia | date = February 13, 2009 | url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/article971078.ece | accessdate = April 23, 2010 | archive-date = February 4, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100204094932/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/article971078.ece | url-status = dead }} It went on to play at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival in Toronto, the Seattle International Film Festival, Outfest, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Watch Docs Film Festival in Poland and the Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. It won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at Berlinale,{{Citation | title = Gay Entertainment Report: A Second Teddy For Hernandez | newspaper = On Top | publisher = On Top Media | date = February 16, 2009 | url = http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=3263&MediaType=1&Category=27 | accessdate =April 23, 2010
}}
the Jury Prize at the Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the award for Best Canadian Film or Video at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.yorku.ca/greyzone/figtrees/}}
- {{IMDb title|1351746|Fig Trees}}
{{Teddy Award for Best Documentary Film}}
{{Inside Out Best Canadian Film}}
{{John Greyson}}
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:2009 documentary films
Category:Documentary films about HIV/AIDS
Category:Films directed by John Greyson
Category:2009 LGBTQ-related films
Category:2000s English-language films
Category:HIV/AIDS in Canadian films