Rebelle

Kim Nguyen

Magic movie about Komona, a fourteen-year-old girl who tells her unborn baby about how she became a rebel and how amidst the acts of war she fell in love with the Magician, another child soldier, with whom she attempts to flee the rebel army.

At the age of 12, Komona is abducted by the rebel army somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa and forced to join the war against the government forces with an AK47 in her hands. Fortunately, she meets 15-year-old soldier Magician, who listens to her, becomes her friend and wants to marry her. Komona and Magician fall in love and decide to flee the rebel army. Life takes on a new colour. Fate strikes, however, just as they think they are safe, and Komona finds herself caught up again in the ongoing war. She then realises that to find happiness, she will have to return to her native soil and get to terms with the demons of her past.

Rebelle was shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has been nominated for best foreign-language film of 2012 at the Oscars. Canadian director Kim Nguyen came across young Congolese actress Rachel Mwanza in Kinshasa, where she lived on the streets. She won the Silver Bear for best actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her stunning film debut.

Credits

Director
Kim Nguyen
Year
2012
Country of production
Canada
Type
Fiction
Duration
90 minutes
Spoken language
French
Production company
Geen
Dutch distributor
Imagine Film