Die Lopende Ambulanse

The small town of Merweville in the Karoo is 90 kilometres away from the nearest ambulance station, the distance further compounded by unequal access to healthcare in South Africa. This heartfelt short film follows a group of local emergency first-aid responders who refuse to wait for help that might come too late. The group, known as die lopende ambulanse (the walking ambulance), cares for sick patients while they wait for the ambulance, which covers a vast area, to hopefully arrive. In telling this uniquely South African story, this beautifully made doccie provides an empathetic rendering of a community which, 32 years after the end of apartheid, is still sharply divided along lines of race and class. Set against the stark beauty of the surrounding landscape and the enduring social inequality of South Africa, their efforts become more than an emergency response — they become a quiet form of resistance.