True/False Films

Rough Aunties

In person: director Kim Longinotto and editor Ollie Huddleston

Evildoers beware! Tough, feisty, wise and full of passionate conviction, a group of women — Thuli, Mildren, Sdudla, Eureka and Jackie — work for Operation Bobbi Bear in Durban, South Africa, dealing with children who have been raped and abused. They accompany police on midnight raids and sit with the victims as they use teddy bears to describe the nature of the abuse. They even clean up crime scenes when necessary. Compounding the degree of difficulty work are the cultural stigmas about talking about sex and the sieve-like processing of criminals through the judicial system. Longinotto's compassionate eye yields a remarkable intimacy with the women as they face trauma and grief of their clients, and in their own lives. Framed against a broader portrait of a society in transition, Rough Aunties offers a personal story women draw strength from each other and performing, on a daily level, the small miracles that help to make the world a kinder, better place. (IK)