Accession

A young unemployed South African man with a casual attitude to sex reacts drastically when he learns he might be HIV-positive. This shocking auteur film presents a minimalist depiction of superstition and ignorance. Shot in the Duduza township, southeast of Johannesburg, it realistically depicts life there while also confronting its theme of the rape of minors with a strikingly auteurist touch. The director says its title means "becoming the possessor of something, and accepting it," as well as "proliferation through the addition of something." It suggests the protagonist's environment, emotions, and behavior, but its true interpretation is left to the viewer. (Tokyo International Film Festival)