Fig Trees

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 HIVAIDS. It was also inspired by Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomsons 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.

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 Achmats treatment strike after a piece on him appeared in The New York Times. The work originally took the form of an eightpart video installation. It was inspired by the 1920s opera Four Saints in Three Acts by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein.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. It is narrated by a singing albino squirrel. ........

Source: Wikipedia