Doc-u-mentally is a touching story that translates to several broader issues surrounding South African healthcare: that there are not enough trained doctors or sufficient funds being put into the system, that hospitals are poorly maintained and are in a dilapidated condition, and that doctors are overworked and underpaid.
SAFTA award winning film ‘Doc-u-mentally’ now showing at US Woordfees.
All five of the documentary’s featured doctors come from different backgrounds, but all seem to approach their work in a way that puts them on the same level. As one would assume, 30 hours on call immediately translates to exhaustion.
The documentary is set in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal. This is incorporated into the story line by showing patients coming into the emergency room with health issues, ranging from multiple stab and gun wounds, to abused women and children who wait to be seen by a doctor for up to nine hours.
The film shows explicit content of how these five young doctors deal with the everyday pressures of their jobs, as well as the emotional and mental burdens they have to deal with on a daily basis.
The doctor’s mention in the film that they have become so desensitised to what they see, because their jobs require them to attend to the next patient in need immediately. Doctors are put into a position where they have to accept the psychological implications that come with the nature of the career.
“The film was quite moving”, said Mbali Dludla (31), a film enthusiast, who works in finance.
Whether the doctors consider themselves to be heroes, crazy, or slaves varied from person to person.
This documentary is a brilliant depiction of the tensions that junior doctors have to face in the South African healthcare sector. The fact that the film won the award for ‘Best Cinematography’ at the esteemed South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) is a clear indication of this.
Doc-u-mentally will be screened again on the 9th of March at Pulp cinema with tickets at R40 and R50 at the door.
– Caira Blignaut