Themba

Set predominantly in the spectacular Eastern Cape of South Africa, THEMBA, is the moving story of a young Xhosa boy who dreams of being a soccer star and longs for his absent father to return home. His non-idyllic childhood in the rural Eastern Cape comes to an abrupt end when his mother is forced to look for work in Cape Town after losing her job, and he and his sister are left in the care of her lover. After Themba is raped, he and his sister go to look for their mother in Cape Town even though his soccer team stands to win the Eastern Cape Junior championships. They find her dying of AIDS. Themba has to force the fact that he, too, is infected. Against all odds, he realizes his soccer dream and plays for Bafana Bafana. This gives him the courage to take a public stand and tell the world that he is HIV positive. Written by Stefanie Sycholt