If you’ve ever been trapped by pesky Save the Children campaigners, odds are your eyes glazed over about five minutes into their spiel about malnourished millions. The concept of mass suffering—no matter the cause—is beyond comprehension. So while the 2009 documentary Home Is Where You Find It is a story common to half a million AIDS orphans in Mozambique, filmmaker Alcides Soares makes the calamity easier to grasp by putting a face on it—his own. Though American producers supplied Soares with a camera, sound equipment, and Final Cut Pro, the boy alone guides viewers through daily struggles and his quest to find his long-missing brother. Soares will move you in a way upper-middle-class do-gooders simply can’t.

The film screens at 8:45 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. $11. (301) 495-6720.