Title :	No Past to Speak Of
Material Type:	printed text
Authors:	Jeremy Gans, Author
Publisher:	NFB
Publication Date:	2006
Languages :	English (eng)
Descriptors:	Audio/visual Gendered Violence and Survivors Sexual Assault, violence and healing
Abstract:	55min. Explores the reality of infant rape in South Africa and investigates the story of a five-month-old baby girl who was brutally raped in a Johannesburg slum. Ten days after the incident, little Vyanna was brought into the home of Claudia Ford, an African-American academic who immigrated to South Africa in 1994. Claudia is faced with the immense task of undoing Vyannaís past and introducing love and stability to a life that has had neither. We follow Claudia as she embarks upon a campaign to end the culture of shame and silence that South African society has imposed upon little Vyanna, as well as other ìvictimsî of rape. The documentary also investigates why infant rape occurs in South Africa more than anywhere else in the world. At the same time, it critically examines the myth that sex with a virgin can cure a man of HIV/AIDS, and the role the media has played in disseminating this myth. The film also looks at South Africa s violent history, pervasive gender inequality, and extreme disparity between the rich and the poor as possible underlying explanations for these unimaginable crimes.

No Past to Speak Of [printed text] / Jeremy Gans, Author . - [S.l.] : NFB, 2006.
Languages : English (eng)

Descriptors:

Audio/visual Gendered Violence and Survivors Sexual Assault, violence and healing

Abstract:

55min. Explores the reality of infant rape in South Africa and investigates the story of a five-month-old baby girl who was brutally raped in a Johannesburg slum. Ten days after the incident, little Vyanna was brought into the home of Claudia Ford, an African-American academic who immigrated to South Africa in 1994. Claudia is faced with the immense task of undoing Vyannaís past and introducing love and stability to a life that has had neither. We follow Claudia as she embarks upon a campaign to end the culture of shame and silence that South African society has imposed upon little Vyanna, as well as other ìvictimsî of rape. The documentary also investigates why infant rape occurs in South Africa more than anywhere else in the world. At the same time, it critically examines the myth that sex with a virgin can cure a man of HIV/AIDS, and the role the media has played in disseminating this myth. The film also looks at South Africa s violent history, pervasive gender inequality, and extreme disparity between the rich and the poor as possible underlying explanations for these unimaginable crimes.