Rebelle
de Kim Nguyen

Montreal director Kim Nguyen’s Oscar-nominated War Witch opens with a young woman telling her unborn child growing inside of her the story of her life since she has been at war. The voice belongs to fourteen-year-old Komona (played by incredible first-time actress, Rachel Mwanza) who is forced by rebels to shoot her own parents and is abducted to fight for their cause as a child soldier.

Komona’s story is far from bleak though – she soon gains status as a ‘war witch’ after she begins to see ghosts in the forest and is able to escape with the help of another orphaned teen, called Magician, with whom she quickly falls in love.

Film critic Kurt Halfyard recently wrote, “Not for the squeamish, Rebelle offers a strangely empowering allegory of Africa and the child- soldier narrative, that lingers in a positive light – for every horrible and unspeakable thing that human beings do to one another, there are people out there willing to offer love and help with going forward. Canadian compassion is still very much alive.”