| FIG TREES is a documentary opera about AIDS activists Tim McCaskell of Toronto and Zackie Achmat of Capetown as they fight for access to treatment drugs. Documentary interviews, speeches, press conferences and demonstrations are sampled, taken apart, and set to music, replayed this time as operatic scenes. A surreal fictional narrative is intercut with the stories of their struggles against government and the pharmaceutical industry. In this fictional world, Gertrude Stein decides to write a tragic opera about Tim and Zackie and their saint-like heroism. She kidnaps them, transports them to Niagara Falls, and forces them to sing a series of complicated avant-garde vocal compositions. However, when Zackie ends his treatment strike and starts taking his pills, Gertrude realizes that there will be no more tragedy, and thus, no more opera. | |
| Release Date: | Feb 09, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Director: | John Greyson |
| Writer: | |
| Genres: | Music, Documentary |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 03, 2025 Entered: Apr 30, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Van Abrahams | Christopher Moraka |
| Zackie Achmat | Christopher Moraka |
| Stephen Chen | Saint Caesura |
| Ezra Perlman | St. Martin |
| Ashton Williams | Nkosi Johnson |
| Denise Williams | St. Teresa of Avila |
| David Wall | Tim McCaskell |
| Deborah Overes | Gertrude Stein |
| Mark Hartmeier | St. Peregrine |
| Justin Bacchus | Christopher Moraka |
| Stephen McClare | Translator |
| Jennifer Moore | Thabo/Manto/Rat |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Bill Layton | Editor |
| Damion Nurse | Production Manager |
| David Wall | Musical |
| Bill Layton | Production Design |
| Elena Pilar Nanes | Production Manager |
| David Frankovich | Prop Maker |
| Matt Greyson | Visual Effects |
| John Greyson | Director |
| Jared Raab | Editor |
| Ali Kazimi | Cinematography |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| John Greyson | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
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