AllMovie

In rural Cambodia, safe drinking water is not something people can take for granted; arsenic has tainted many water sources, and poisoning has become common in many communities. Filmmaker Cynthia Wade offers a look at how both tragedy and hope play into the story of one family touched by arsenic poisoning in this short documentary. A fifteen-year-old boy dreams of a future as a musician and loves to sing karaoke; however, he's been exposed to large quantities of arsenic and isn't expected to live much longer. While he and his family try to deal with this grim diagnosis, they hope to use his love of karaoke as a way to inform others about the danger of polluted water supplies. Born Sweet was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it received an honorable mention in the short film competition.