Life, Above All is a 2010 South African drama film directed by Oliver Schmitz. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the South African entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards and made the final shortlist announced in January 2011. The film was adapted from the novel Chanda’s Secrets (2004) by Allan Stratton. It’s was picked up for release in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics. Chanda is only 12 years old, but she’s already been forced to take on many of the responsibilities of an adult in her household. Chanda’s father is gone, her stepfather, Jonah, is an irresponsible alcoholic, and her mother, Lillian , has been physically and emotionally devastated by AIDS and the death of her youngest child.