Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 4 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Film review: Safeparks Darcy Varney University of Colorado Citation: Varney, Darcy. (2007). "Film review: Safeparks." Children, Youth and Environments 17 (4). Retrieved [date] from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/ Safeparks – a film by Benny Gool, Roger Friedman and Siphiwe Nkosi; 2006; Oryx Media Productions, South Africa.www.oryxmedia.co.za; runtime, 10 minutes. “Every child needs to play,” South African child care worker Mncedisi Mankayi says in Safeparks, a short film about Isibindi, the National Association of Child Care Workers’ continuum-of-care program for children affected by HIV/AIDS. For children whose families have been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic, however, playtime can become a rare privilege. With Safeparks, filmmakers Benny Gool, Roger Friedman and Siphiwe Nkosi provide a quick look at a program designed to provide play spaces and “warm places of healing, supporting, belonging, sharing, teaching; safe places of courage for all.” They succeed in orienting the viewer to the “safe park” concept and the motivations of the National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW), but leave some questions about the “life space” of children who use the parks unanswered. The Isibindi “safe park” concept developed out of the recognition among South African child care workers that the basic rights of children to “laugh, play and dream” are often subordinated to adult responsibilities when their relatives grow sick and die from HIV/AIDS. More than 118,000 children live in child-headed households in South Africa(Children Count 2006). Caring for households can leave young people isolated, at risk of depression and other problems, and lacking the mentorship and guidance they need. The social isolation, and its attendant issues, experienced by orphans and those living in child-headed households inspired the NACCW to reach out to children affected by HIV/AIDS and provide 446 them with places to play games, make crafts, participate in cultural activities, and receive adult support, advice and direction. At “safe parks,” the film narrative describes, “children heading households have a safe place to play with their peers and friends, to shed adult responsibilities for a while in the knowledge that younger siblings are safely cared for by child- and youth-care workers.” NACCW has also established community gardens at the parks, helping children plant and harvest fresh vegetables and teaching them about nutrition and traditional herbal remedies. Just where the “safe parks” are, how many of them have been developed, and how many children they serve remains unclear throughout the 10-minute documentary. The scenes appear to have been shot in a single rural area, leaving the viewer to ask how children get to the park, how close their home communities are to it, and whether there are any such parks available to children living in South African cities. The land for at least one “safe park” was apparently donated by Bungeni Traditional Authority Headman Elias Shirinda, who appears in the film in traditional tribal dress, playing football and other games with the children. Shirinda describes the importance of providing land for children to play on, but how the community he represents and the NACCW are linked, and how other “safe parks” have been or may be developed, is not discussed. The film depicts children engaged in a variety of activities, from jumping rope and dancing to gardening and participating in organized games. Adult child- and youth-care workers provide commentary throughout. Including some comments from participating young people about how the “safe parks” have helped them would add an important dimension to the film. The viewer is left without a clear understanding of how the parks—or park—fit into the daily lives of orphans and children heading households. Safeparks provides an inviting glimpse into an innovative child- and youth-care practice in South Africa, aimed at improving the lives of young people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. More information about how “safe parks” fit into the overall supportive approach of the NACCW, and how young people experience and benefit from the 447 continuum-of-care provided by the organization, would help the film stand on its own as a promotional tool. Reference Children Count (2006). “Children...