They Go to Die is a documentary film-in-progress investigating the life of four former migrant gold mineworkers in South Africa and Swaziland who have contracted drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and HIV while working at the gold mine, and one American graduate student’s journey to discover what happens to life after the mine. When the miners fail to improve their TB status at the mining hospital, they are sent home to rural areas of South Africa with no continuation of care or means for treatment. Though this practice is often referred to as “sending them home to die” by leading health officials, it is still allowed under South African legislation. The film follows a graduate American student as he goes where no one else has yet to go: into the homes of these men. As he travels to live with these African miners and their families, the film depicts bonding, cultural differences, and the challenges that each character faces in health and family life.
The film raises concerns of disease and human rights violations uniquely though the context of life, love, and family; unlike traditional health films, it focuses on relationships and bonding, not death and disease. It is a film of uniting across cultures and paints a portrait of common humanity.
Please visit the http://theygotodie.com/ website for more information about the film and the most recent project update and a personal message from the director, Jonathan Smith.