21 Up South Africa On ITV
Sunday 12 August 2007 10:15pm – 11:45pm on ITV1.
Fourteen years ago, across South Africa, seven-year-old children were filmed for a documentary.
The children were drawn from an extraordinary range of backgrounds and landscapes and they lived in a country that was brutally divided and on the brink of a social change.
Among the children were the daughter of a Zulu chief, the son of a white Afrikaans farmer and children of townships already familiar with guns and death.
Seven years later the group were teenagers in a new South Africa. Now South African film-maker Angus Gibson has gone back to find the children in his original films and has discovered that, although the political struggle has given many of them opportunities their parents were denied, a tragic story has also emerged. The youngsters’ biggest battle has been the war against AIDS – and not all of them have survived.
For the first time in the history of the 7UP series, three of the people taking part have died.
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This was an amazing programme. Truly wonderful. Thank you to whoever made it.
A friend told me about this documentary this morning – do you know if it can be viewed again on ITV. If so, please can you let me know of the date and time
thanks
This was the most worthwhile programme I have seen on TV for years. Whilst there are some hard hitting facts about the devastation of HIV/AIDS, the documentary is balanced with stories of education vs.ignorance and hope within a nation that is still surviving the effects of apartheid.
What a fantastic programme. I never saw the first two installments, but found this very moving indeed. As an expat living in the UK – I want to jump up and down and tell everyone – “See, this is what it is really like”. Cliches and racial stereotypes wear very thin afer a few years.
This is what reality TV is supposed to be but in most cases they woefully felling short. The fact that too many of these very likeable kids did not survived shows that there is something not quite right there but the HIV and AIDS connection is still unproven regardless the near hysteria of the mainstream medical establishment. There are far too many loose ends besides this to figure out, like the causes of cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome and so on. South Africa clearly not an easy place to grow up but the fact that these kids are suprisingly more balanced than in many other, more stable parts in the world, including the west, in general, gives the viewer much hope for them and their country.
Have been using the first two in our transformation work here in SA. Please can someone tell me where I can purchase 21 Up in SA?
Terry
i am young, brillient guy, 20 of age, aspiring 2be on tv, shortage of information and experienced people from the village is the reason why am failing to persuea my carrer. please help with information