No Past to Speak of

No Past to Speak Of is a documentary that lays bare the shocking fact of child rape in South Africa. In the film, director Jeremy Gans follows the story of a five-months-old girl called Vyanna, who has been brutally raped in one of Johannesburg's slums. Ten days later, she is adopted by Claudia Ford, a British scientist who has been living in South Africa for several years. We follow the story of little Vyanna and her adoptive mother. Ford has decided to not only provide the child with the love and care she needs but to also fight against the stigma society attaches to her raped daughter. It also tries to answer the question as to why child rape is so much more widespread in South Africa than it is anywhere else in the world. Through interviews with South African scientists and activists, the director gradually uncovers the terrible myths that pervade South African society. What is even more shocking is that there is evidence to suggest that the South African media contributes significantly to the spread of these lies.