Cross-genre aesthetics in Zimbabwe's HIV orphans cinema: Realism, ideation and subject matter in fiction and documentary filmmaking.

The article examines the documentary *Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children: A Struggle for Survival* (2010) and the narrative film *Everyone's Child* (1996) to explore their shared depiction of Zimbabwean orphans affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Despite belonging to different genres—documentary and fiction—both films converge in their organizing idea, storytelling techniques, and characterization, portraying the socio-economic hardships and vulnerabilities of children orphaned by AIDS in Zimbabwe. The analysis highlights how these films achieve comparable verisimilitude by reflecting historical realities and social conditions, thereby challenging rigid genre distinctions and suggesting a need to reconsider genre boundaries through shared elements of realism, ideation, and subject matter. Both films ultimately aim to raise awareness and inspire social change regarding the plight of HIV/AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe.