Actress Theron takes on story of South African child AIDS victim

Jul 23, 2005, 15:33 GMT

Johannesburg - Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron is to co-produce and possibly star in a movie about the life of one of the world's most famous child AIDS victims Nkosi Johnson, it was reported on Saturday.

The orphaned South African child made his mark as an outspoken AIDS activist and role model in the late 1990s before dying of the disease at the age of 12 in 2001.

Theron is co-producing the film documenting his life, and, according to the Saturday Star newspaper, may even take on the role of Gail Johnson, the white woman who adopted and cared for the boy.

The flamboyant Johnson, who runs a haven for children infected with the disease, has signed a film deal with Los Angeles-based Adelstein-Parouse Productions.

In an interview she said: "This story has got to be told", adding that it was important that the film kept "a South African edge".

More than five million South Africans are infected with the AIDS virus. In 2000 the softspoken Nkosi Johnson made international headlines when he addressed an International AIDS Conference, appealing to world leaders to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS are given potentially life-prolonging drugs.

"It's great to know that Charlize has come home. You cannot put a value to that kind of contribution," the chief executive of South Africa's National Film and Video Foundation said.

One of the few feature films out of the country to touch on the subject, "Yesterday", was nominated for an Oscar last year.