War Witch (2012)

Directed by: Kim Nguyen
Country: Canada

Review: “War Witch” covers a strong subject, using raw images and a well-organized structure. Komona, a pregnant girl of 14-years-old, tells her own story. Forced to join the rebel army at 12, she was submitted to several rites to suppress feelings or emotion, including the assassination of her parents and hard beatings every time she started to cry. Luckily, she became a protected “war witch”, after having developed some extra-sensitivity to feel the enemies, due to a drug that they called “magical sap”. But not everything was so gloomy. “War Witch” also uncovers a genuine love story, and proves that even in extremely harsh conditions and savage circumstances there are good souls who might help you out. The time expended with these positive aspects helped to soothe the weight of a disturbing and sad reality, more and more common in African soils. Rachel Mwanza was considered best actress at Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals.