Downstream to Kinshasa

In June 2000, a bloody war raged in the streets of the city of Kisangani, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For six days, troops from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda fought for control of the region’s mining wealth, leaving around 1,000 dead, and at least 3,000 wounded.

Kisangani’s civilian victims were promised compensation, but 18 years have passed and they’ve still received nothing. Weary of all the false promises, some of them decide to go to the capital Kinshasa to voice their demands. Those who lost limbs in the war have been unable to rebuild a life for themselves, and their families often see them as a burden. They travel by boat along the Congo River, determined to get justice.

Downstream to Kinshasa, in which the journey is punctuated by scenes from a play, is more than a demand for compensation: the spirit with which the victims claim their place in society makes this a portrait of human dignity.