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PHOLOKGOLO RAMOTHWALA



Pholokgolo Ramothwala
Documentaries

Law and Freedom

Director: Zackie Achmat

Video clipPart 2: It’s a Nice Country! We meet courageous women and men who have used the Constitution to build democracy and a better life for all. First, we meet Irene Grootboom whose struggle for housing culminated in a landmark ruling of the Constitutional Court that is seen as crucial for the establishment of greater socio-economic rights. In the case of Ngxuza and others v the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, we meet the Meltafas, who even in the new democratic order, had to challenge abuse of power when their grants were unlawfully withdrawn. When labeled a troublemaker by officials, Mrs Meltafa responds, "You have been sleeping, I have woken you up!". It’s a Nice Country! also explores the case of the Treatment Action Campaign’s battle for the use of antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In this personal reading of the "Nevirapine case," Achmat pays tribute to TAC members who, through their work of education and community mobilisation, used the Constitution to achieve access to life saving treatment.

Media, Method, Message

Video clipMedia, Method, Message follows the story of Beat It! the worlds first HIV/AIDS magazine programme. Narrated by the shows co-creator and director Jack Lewis, we see how Beat It! worked towards removing the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and addressed the concerns of real people living with AIDS through documentary inserts and an in studio HIV+ support group.

TAC the first five years

Video clipThe Treatment Action Campaign “in less than five years of existence moved a nation, shifted government policy and advanced the rights of people with HIV everywhere in the world… TAC’s struggle grows out of the best traditions of the anti-apartheid movement. TAC will be a shining light for citizen action for decades to come.” - Graca Machel, on presenting TAC with the Nelson Mandela, Health and Human Rights Award in 2002.