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Direct Link to Film Segment:
CONGO - FIGHTING THE SILENCE
FILM ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN CONGO
Femke
van Velzen, Ilse van Velzen 53', The Netherlands, 2007 WP
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s seven year war was the deadliest ever
recorded in Africa. During that time, more than 80.000 women and girls were
raped. Only now that the country is formally at peace are the consequences of
the brutality becoming truly visible. Rape is slowly seeping into everyday
life.
“Fighting the Silence” tells the story of ordinary Congolese women and men that
are struggling to change their society: one that prefers to blame victims
rather than prosecute rapists. Rape survivors and their families speak out
openly about the suffering they endured because their culture considers women
second class citizens and rape a taboo. They give voice to thousands of other
survivors and their families who have chosen to hide their grief and remain
silent for fear of being rejected by their families and community.
Girls and women survivors tell of the brutality they experienced. Married
couples openly talk about the pain they endure. Husbands talk of the pressures
that led them to abandon their wives and why they agreed to take them back. A
father explains why he has given up on his daughter’s future and how he wishes
he could afford to take her rapist to court. Soldiers and policemen share their
(shocking) views about why rape continues to flourish despite the war having
officially ended four years ago.
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The makers of Fighting
the Silence, Ilse and Femke van Velzen, wish to increase consciousness
of sexual violence worldwide. Following the world premiere of the film at IDFA
(International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) 2007, they focused on the
international festival market. The documentary has been seen this year at
festivals in England, America and Israel. Fighting the Silence won
the Aljazeera Jury Award at the Aljazeera International Film Festival in Qatar.
Through the screenings at film festivals throughout the world, the documentary
has reached a large Western audience. The makers however consider it at least
as important that the film reaches the people themselves involved with sexual
violence in the Congo. For this reason, from September 2008, a mobile cinema
will travel from village to village in the province of Southern Kivu, showing
Fighting the Silence in public places. Various organisations, who work at local
level with the victims of rape, have cooperated in adapting the film for this
purpose. This ensures that the message can be clearly put across within a
Congolese context.
The Fighting the Silence mobile cinema will be unique in the
Congo. The film gives greater insight into the underlying causes, and
consequences, of the rape scandals. The makers hope that, in this way, people
will become more aware of their own responsibilities. In addition, professional
trainers will be on hand on the tour, organizing workshops for specific target
groups, such as military personnel and children. The workshops will give the
audience an opportunity to discuss the problem and potential solutions. The
'mobile cinema tour' will last some twelve months.
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