Movie Review: “Doin’ My Drugs” Is A Powerful & Eye-Opening Documentary About Living With HIV

The story of musician Thomas Muchimba Buttenschøn – born HIV+ in 1985 – and his crusade to use his music to wipe out AIDS in his native Zambia and beyond.

Thomas Buttenschøn is a Danish musician and songwriter with a burden he has carried his entire life. He was born HIV positive from two HIV+ parents, although this did not stop him from living and pursuing a life, not purely defined by his illness. After his rise to fame and unwanted exposure of his medical condition, Thomas set out to spread awareness and inform people that HIV is no longer the death sentence people thought and still believe it is. Thomas inspires his fellow countrymen by exemplifying his own life and family. He has lived past 30 years old and conceived a family with his wife without spreading or contaminating them. He has accomplished this by taking the proper precautions and drugs that aid in his living a normal life. He seeks to give others in the country of Zambia hope for a brighter future.

“Doin’ My Drugs” is a brilliant documentary that revolves around Thomas Buttenschøn’s quest to spread awareness about HIV in Zambia. Having lived and been affected by it his whole life, Thomas decides to throw a benefit concert in the village his mother came from and died in. The price of admission? Tests for Tickets. Through the power of music and community, Thomas sets out to start a new trend of openness regarding HIV statuses within the community and give a new perspective towards testing. He traverses the country in search of fellow artists and activists who believe it has been time to change the population’s view on victims of HIV. All together they agree testing is a major first step.

Throughout his journey, Thomas introduces us to a handful of social activists and musicians that have been trailblazing their own messages to bring better awareness to a vast array of issues, not only HIV. We are introduced to such amazing artists as Maiko Zulu, Sista’D, Mwiza Zulu, Danny Kaya, John Chiti, and many more who are all not only supremely gifted musically but agree that music is one of the best ways to spread a message and impact change. Music is a shared interest that nearly every person can relate to. You just need to find the right song.

Thomas also takes the time to speak to locals in an attempt to educate and expose the false narratives surrounding HIV that so many believe. Families and friends abandon each other because of the fear and scarlet letter that HIV has on individuals. Yet when Thomas explains to the impressionable college student or the Zambian journalists about his current circumstances regarding his battle with HIV, they are completely bewildered. Literally, they are jaw dropped at the idea of a 35-year-old man born with HIV who has a family of his own that live unafflicted by his illness because of the advancements in medicine. Even the existence of such medicine is news to some. It’s these small intimate scenes that reinforce the importance of getting people to test and bringing them together in a safe and non-judgmental environment.

This film does well to inform, inspire, and teach in regard to the truth of modern-day living with HIV. It shows the lack of awareness and conversations within these rural communities about the truth of living with such an illness. By using the medium of music and its crowd-drawing appeal, Thomas and his fellow musicians/activists have sparked, at the least, conversations about HIV and at most, have planted seeds that can lead to change. Thomas’s path is clear, and his intentions pure as he detests the idea of anyone who has HIV the way he and his parents once did. He understands he is primed to be a spokesperson in this movement and chose to start where it all began for him, in his country of Zambia.

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