Early in Gabriel Badejo’s riveting debut feature documentary The Sickling, the filmmaker and his partner are shown watching the 1973 Sidney Poitier-led film A Warm December. One of handful of films, including Charles Officer’s 2008 gem Nurse.Fighter.Boy, that focus on the impact of sickle cell anemia, Poitier’s classic work resonates with the filmmaker on a personal level. Living with the disease his entire life, Badejo remarks on how the film’s depiction of the debilitating pain that sickle cell anemia causes is real, but the level of care the female protagonist receives is the stuff of Hollywood fiction.
As if throwing a brick through a romanticize mirror, Badejo’s film captures the harrowing realities that come with a disease that makes one feel as if their bones are breaking from the inside.
The Sickling explores the physical trauma that those with the disease endure and the misconceptions and bias that others place on them. Sickle cell is a disease whose identifiers are not common to the naked eye. It is considered a life threatening “invisible disease” that, excruciating agony is cause in those inflicted with it, is often met with skepticism and inadequate medical care. Since the disease impacts Black people the most, this adds an additional layer of stigma for individuals to burrow through.
The film notes that hospitals have historically questioned and downplayed the discomfort of Black people in pain. This type of inherent bias is a frequent roadblock on the highway to healing, and forces individuals to find alternative methods, such as music and dance, to distract them from the agony they feel. Of course, even the coping techniques are misunderstood by medical professionals whose preconceptions can negatively shape a person’s medical records for years. The lack of proper training and care around sickle cell is made worse by the fact that, outside of North America, most of the world does not have adequate treatment for the disease.
A fact that is hit home when Badejo’s mother shares a story about how the Nigerian born filmmaker was close to death as a child before doctor’s finally listened to her demands to have him transferred to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. As viewers observe in the film, this would not be the only time Badejo would find his existence hanging in the balance.
In one harrowing sequence, archival audio recordings of the filmmaker calling for an ambulance multiple times during a crisis sends a chill down the viewer’s spine. It also sheds light on why Badejo would embark on a risky experimental stem cell transplant that could potentially offer a pathway to a cure or shorten his life.
Providing candid insight to his experiences up to this point, including utilizing beautifully shot reenactments to highlight key moments of his youth, Badejo presents a well-rounded exploration of sickle cell disease and the inherent systemic racism that comes with it. The Sickling reminds viewers of both the long documented history of Black bodies being abused and tested on, as well as the sense of distrust that Black communities have towards potential new medical treatments being promoted to them.
While an unflinching and moving work, the filmmaker incorporates the right amount of joy to remind viewers that with struggle also comes plenty of resilience and love.
Capturing the tight and supportive bonds that the filmmaker has with his loved ones, The Sickling ensures that Badejo’s humanity always remains at the forefront. A personal work that manages to feel universal in its themes of systemic racism in healthcare and societal biases toward illnesses that lurk beneath the surface, the film is both enlightening and deeply moving. Offering one of the most honest portraits documented on film of what daily life with sickle cell disease is like, Badejo crafts an unforgettable debut.
