Reed Dance

According to a United Nations report, one in two teenagers in Swaziland will die of AIDS in the next few years. Polish director Andrzej Fidyk records the predominant role that AIDS has in the preparations and celebrations for the traditional reed dance. At this annual dance, all young virgins of Swaziland present themselves to King Mswati III - the last absolute monarch of Africa. A group of young girls, whose candid and vivacious conversations are followed by Fidyk, doubt whether the group really comprises any real virgins. Seemingly unmoved, the girls talk about polygamy and rape. The thought that a ten-year-old has not had sex yet makes them laugh out loud. They know that condoms protect against aids, but traditional healers claim that condoms are precisely the cause. Before they were available, there was no AIDS. Fidyk also speaks with the king’s brother, with his cameraman and even briefly with the king himself. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)