Fig Trees (2009)
1h 40m
Running Time
February 9, 2009Release Date
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Plot.
FIG TREES is a documentary opera about AIDS activists Tim McCaskell of Toronto and Zackie Achmat of Capetown as they fight for access to treatment drugs. Documentary interviews, speeches, press conferences and demonstrations are sampled, taken apart, and set to music, replayed this time as operatic scenes. A surreal fictional narrative is intercut with the stories of their struggles against government and the pharmaceutical industry. In this fictional world, Gertrude Stein decides to write a tragic opera about Tim and Zackie and their saint-like heroism. She kidnaps them, transports them to Niagara Falls, and forces them to sing a series of complicated avant-garde vocal compositions. However, when Zackie ends his treatment strike and starts taking his pills, Gertrude realizes that there will be no more tragedy, and thus, no more opera.
Where to Watch.
No streaming offers found
Cast & Crew.
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Van Abrahams
Christopher Moraka
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Zackie Achmat
Christopher Moraka
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Stephen Chen
Saint Caesura
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Ezra Perlman
St. Martin
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Alexander Chapman
Actor
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Ashton Williams
Nkosi Johnson
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Stephen Chen
Saint Caesura
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Denise Williams
St. Teresa of Avila
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David Wall
Tim McCaskell / Musical
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Devon Ferguson
Saint
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Deborah Overes
Gertrude Stein
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Mark Hartmeier
St. Peregrine
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Justin Bacchus
Christopher Moraka
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Stephen McClare
Translator
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Jennifer Moore
Thabo/Manto/Rat
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Jared Raab
Editor
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John Greyson
Producer / Director
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Bill Layton
Editor
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Matt Greyson
Visual Effects
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Damion Nurse
Production Manager
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Bill Layton
ProductionDesigner
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Elena Pilar Nanes
Production Manager
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David Frankovich
Prop Maker
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Bill Layton
Production Design
Details.
Wiki.
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.
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