By Gael Masengi, Saturday 12 January 2013
On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the list of Oscar nominees in Los Angeles
and guess what... an unknown “Made in Congo” film made the short list in line
to win the Best Foreign Language Foreign category comes February 24th.
Written and directed by the Canadian Kim Nguyen,
“War Witch” or Rebelle (as better known by its original French title) tells the
story of Komona (portrayed by Rachel Mwanza), a young girl whose life is
anything but normal. Kidnapped by African rebels at the age of 12, Komona was
forced at gunpoint to slaughter her own parents and fight as a child soldier
against the government in the jungles. But Komona was no ordinary soldier. Due to her ability to see gray ghosts in the trees that
warn her of approaching enemies, she was deemed a sorceress and bestowed the
title of War Witch by the supreme leader of the rebels, Great Tiger. War Witch
exudes visceral energy and emotional power as Komona’s journey ultimately finds
her in love with a fellow child soldier named Magician (Serge Kanyinda), but
pregnant with another man’s child. Saddled with the reality that a life of
normalcy is forever beyond her grasp, Komona must find a way to resolve the
actions of her past.
While no existing country or city is
mentioned in the movie, viewers however can clearly identify the plot with the on-going
situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the film was
primarily shot in Lingala (widely spoken language of the DRC) and French with a
cast of mainly Congolese actors and actresses.
With a notable recent success of another made-in-DRC film, namely Viva
Riva (best director, best supporting actor and actress, best cinematography and
best production design at the African Academy Awards) and first time actors
such as Pasha “Bay” Mukuna and Rachel Mwanza gaining world-wide recognition for
their unforgettable stellar performances, it is safe to say that the DRC is
also one of Africa’s pool of talented actors and actresses but as you all will
agree with me, the country’s economic situation or total unwillingness by a corrupted
government to invest in developing the
motion arts industry makes it difficult to discover such gifted individuals shouldn’t be for foreign investment.
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| Oscar statue |
War
Witch or Rebelle
did already enjoy major success at last year’s mainstream film festivals around
the world, winning best actress at the Tribeca and a Silver Bear in the same
category at the Berlin Film Festival for the Congolese rising teen star, Rachel
Mwanza. The film is Canada’s entry to the Oscars and will not in any way represent
the Democratic Republic of Congo as many might think, it is up against Austria’s
“Amour”, Chile’s “No”, Denmark’s “A Royal Affair” and Norway’s “Kon-Tiki”
leaving out the much anticipated France’s “The
Intouchables”.
Amongst the remarkable big-timers at this
year’s prestigious awards is The Life of
Pi, a sci-fi blockbuster which comes second with eleven nominations after
the American drama Lincoln scoring in
twelve categories (which include best picture, best director, best actor for
Daniel Day Lewis, and film editing). Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie focusses
on the last four months leading to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Winners of
the 85th Academy Awards will be announced on February 24th
at the Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, Seth MacFarlane, the creator of hit-comedy
animation Family Guy is lined up to
host the ceremony.
War Witch synopsis by Tribeca
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