mamabear110 I view this documentary on HBO this past week and thought it excellent. So much so that I have bought not only the DVD but the CD as well. I was particularly moved by this film because I am on the Board of Directors of a grassroots organization called Our Journey, Inc. that works in the same South African province where Agape is located. In fact, our founder/directors has visited Agape. The only thing missing from the film was the fact that the children in the orphanage are the lucky ones!!! Our organization works to provide basic needs of children without any family or community support. Some children as young as seven years of age are the head of the household. If there is an adult it is usually a grandmother (called gogos) who is looking after grandchildren and great grandchildren because the young adults have died of AIDS.Please tell everyone you know about this film. The world needs to know about them and their great needs. Teddie Martin, Board of Directors our journey inc.org

bob the moo Slindile is a twelve year old orphan living with some of her brothers and sisters in the Agape orphanage in South Africa. The other siblings still live in the family home but had to give up the younger ones when their parents died and they did not have the money to feed all of the children and look after them. She now lives at the orphanage along with many other children who have lost, or been abandoned by their parents. Over several years this film follows the lives of those in the orphanage, with particular focus on Slindile, as they live their lives and also prepare for a trip to England to perform in order to raise money for Agape.I heard about this film on Shooting People and was pleased to see it get such publicity and a decent slot on terrestrial television recently. Watching it myself I must admit that the cynical bitter part of me (that'll be all the bits between the soles of my feet and my thinning hair) was prepared for the usual "African" fare of happy singing children, bright colours, bare feet and middle-class guilt. Forgive me this but on paper this is just what the film is but even those with hardest hearts will have to concede that the film is way more than just the clichés but is actually a challenging, uplifting and surprisingly hopeful film.With any documentary, the real work comes in getting the right subjects – particularly when you are making a film focused on a small group to illustrate a bigger story. Films can fall over by picking the wrong group or by focusing on the wrong people in a group, some of it is in the selection and maybe it can come in the edit if you have enough footage. Director Taylor doesn't really have this problem as he already knew his subjects from his time volunteering in a break from film school. He has already chosen his subjects and for him this is half the battle. That his subjects allow him to capture tragedy and loss as much as hope and happiness is down to them but it is all captured and brought together really well in the edit. The film wisely doesn't dwell on the issue of AIDS but rather just lets us see, through Slindile and her family, how it impacts just one family – the extrapolation of that it leaves to us to do from what we already know of the situation and the basic stats it provides at the end.It is compelling in both the sadness of it all but also the endless spirit of hope and survival that is maintained through everything. If I have a bad day at work I am useless in the evening, think how great about myself I felt watching this! Slindile is a great focal point because she is a beautiful girl but also one of those children who has their thoughts written on their face, the infectious smile is just another reason to love her. We see all this through her and she is a massive part in hooking the viewer into the reality of the situation – this film is not another "black people dying somewhere else" reports that we see so often on the news that it is practically just accepted as the way things are. The rest of the kids are great too but again it is not just about "cute kids" (although Mbali is undoubtedly the cutest child ever) but also the adults, as the film gives time to the elder siblings whose lot is not much better but whose spirits are just as strong.It is an impressive film from Taylor and really well pulled together by editor Hirakubo into an effective and engaging piece that gets the mix of emotions just right. Uplifting and challenging in equal measure – if you are not asking what you can do to help or where you can donate by the end of the film then there is genuinely something wrong with you. Simply put - a beautiful and moving film. www.wearetogether.org.

vincent-251 There's a couple of dozen more adjectives I could have used in the title. We Are Together hits the audience on so many levels that I couldn't possibly mention them all. This is a truly wonderful film and my only concern is that people won't go out and see it because they feel it's just another 'tragic Africa story' that gives Westerners the chance to portray themselves as saviours. I admit I suspected it might be such a film and was relieved to find it isn't. Not in the slightest.While the story's tragic subject matter gets the attention it deserves, you'll spend just as much time laughing at the humour, sharing in the children's excitement, and for every tear you shed in sympathy, you'll shed one out of sheer joy.

Weezzie What a wonderful group of kids. They face heartbreaking tragedy and loss and dashed hopes, but all the while they are held up by their love for each other and God's love ("Agape," the name of the orphanage, is the ancient Greek word for it) and by their own beautiful singing, which soars throughout the movie up until the fairy-tale ending. I saw it this weekend at the True/False film festival in Columbia, Missouri, and I cried through the entire film. There was one point at which I almost started sobbing. Here's hoping this movie will receive enough press and popularity to attain a wide release and more people will be blessed with it as I was.