{{About|the documentary film|the plant|Ficus|other uses|Fig Tree (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox film | name = Fig Trees | image = | alt = | caption = Screenshot | director = John Greyson | producer = John Greyson | writer = John Greyson | starring = | music = David Wall | cinematography = Ali Kazimi | editing = Jared Raab | studio = Greyzone | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2009|2|9|Berlinale}} | runtime = 104 minutes | country = Canada | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''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.
==Background== Zackie Achmat is a South African HIV-positive activist who founded the Treatment Action Campaign in 1998. The organization focuses on access to drug treatment for HIV/AIDS patients who cannot afford private health care. Achmat refused to take medication himself until the South African government made antiretroviral treatments available through public sector hospitals. Tim McCaskell is a Canadian activist who founded the AIDS Action Now! organization, and has campaigned for better access to treatment.<ref name=mix>{{Citation | title = Fig Trees | newspaper = Mix 22 | publisher = Clear Channel Communications | date = November 11–22, 2009 | url = http://www.mixnyc.org/schedule-fig-trees.php | accessdate = April 23, 2010 | archive-date = June 13, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100613070358/http://mixnyc.org/schedule-fig-trees.php | url-status = dead }}</ref>
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 Achmat's treatment strike after a piece on him appeared in ''The New York Times''.<ref name="cbc">{{Citation |title=John Greyson opera Fig Trees tackles AIDS activism |date=May 21, 2009 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/john-greyson-opera-fig-trees-tackles-aids-activism-1.837270 |newspaper=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524011124/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/05/21/greyson-opera.html |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |archive-date=2009-05-24 |url-status=live |access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref> The work originally took the form of an eight-part video installation.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Melnyk | first = George | title = Great Canadian Film Directors | publisher = University of Alberta | year = 2007 | page = 142 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yidsZH2gJRAC&pg=PA142 | isbn = 978-0-88864-479-4}}</ref> It was inspired by the 1920s opera ''Four Saints in Three Acts'' by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein.<ref name=cbc />
==Content== The film features documentary footage and interviews with Achmat and McCaskell, as well as Gugu Dlamini, Stephen Lewis, Simon Nkoli, interspersed with operatic performances.<ref name=mix /><ref name=cbc /> Fictional elements feature Gertrude Stein writing an opera about Achmat and McCaskell.<ref>{{Citation | last = Deming | first = Mark | title = Fig Trees > Plot synopsis | newspaper = Allmovie | publisher = Rovi Corporation | url = https://www.allmovie.com/work/fig-trees-483494 | accessdate =April 24, 2010}}</ref> It is narrated by a singing albino squirrel.<ref name=cbc />
==Release and reception== ''Fig Trees'' premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) on February 9, 2009.<ref name="indiewire">{{Citation |last=Knegt |first=Peter |title=Fonda, Loach and Klein Among Those Joining Protest Against TIFF |date=September 3, 2009 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/09/03/fonda_loach_and_klein_among_those_joining_protest_against_tiff/ |newspaper=indieWIRE |publisher=SnagFilms |accessdate=April 23, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023}}</ref> It had been accepted as a rough cut and finished shortly before the festival.<ref>{{Citation | last = Buck | first = Naomi | title = Canadians come out strong at Berlinale | newspaper = The Globe and Mail | publisher = CTVglobemedia | date = February 13, 2009 | url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/article971078.ece | accessdate = April 23, 2010 | archive-date = February 4, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100204094932/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/article971078.ece | url-status = dead }}</ref> It went on to play at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival in Toronto, the Seattle International Film Festival, Outfest, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Watch Docs Film Festival in Poland and the Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. It won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at Berlinale,<ref>{{Citation | title = Gay Entertainment Report: A Second Teddy For Hernandez | newspaper = On Top | publisher = On Top Media | date = February 16, 2009 | url = http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=3263&MediaType=1&Category=27 | accessdate =April 23, 2010 }} </ref> the Jury Prize at the Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the award for Best Canadian Film or Video at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.yorku.ca/greyzone/figtrees/}} * {{IMDb title|1351746|Fig Trees}}
{{Teddy Award for Best Documentary Film}} {{Inside Out Best Canadian Film}} {{John Greyson}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2009 films Category:English-language Canadian films Category:2009 documentary films Category:Documentary films about HIV/AIDS Category:Films directed by John Greyson Category:2009 LGBTQ-related films Category:2009 English-language films Category:HIV/AIDS in Canadian films Category:2009 Canadian films Category:English-language documentary films Category:Canadian LGBTQ-related documentary films