WUNRN
Women Make Movies
Direct Link to Film Segment:
CONGO - FILM ON RAPE - THE GREATEST SILENCE
|
The
Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
A
film by Lisa
F. Jackson
2007,
76 minutes, Color, DVD, French, Swahili, Lingala, Mashi, Subtitled
Order No. W09930
Winner
of the Sundance Special Jury Prize in Documentary and the inspiration for a
2008 U.N. Resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war, this extraordinary
film, shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), shatters
the silence that surrounds the use of sexual violence as a weapon of conflict.
Many tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped,
raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the
Congolese army. A survivor of gang rape herself, Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker
Lisa F. Jackson travels through the DRC to understand what is happening and
why.
Produced in association with HBO Documentary Films and the Fledgling Fund, this
film features interviews with activists, peacekeepers, physicians, and
even—chillingly—the indifferent rapists who are soldiers of the Congolese Army.
Harrowing moments of the film come as dozens of survivors recount their stories
with an honesty and immediacy that is pulverizing in its intimacy and detail,
but this powerful film also provides inspiring examples of resiliency,
resistance, courage and grace.