City of Joy
Breaking the silence around wartime sexual violence in the Congo
2016 | Running Time: 94 minutes | Rating: NR
CITY OF JOY follows the first class of women at a revolutionary center in eastern Congo called City of Joy, which offers community and healing for victims of the country’s civil war. Rape is a tool of war. There is a connection made between body and land as the women at the center were violated; similarly, their country is pillaged for its natural resources. The film weaves the journey of the Congolese women who attend City of Joy with the story of the center’s founders — Dr. Denis Mukwege, 2016 Nobel Peace Prize nominee; Christine Schuler-Deschryver, women’s rights activist; and Eve Ensler, radical feminist and author of The Vagina Monologues. CITY OF JOY premiered at the 2016 DOC NYC Film Festival. Director: Madeleine Gavin; Producer: Allyson Luchak
Impact Docs Awards 2017: Best Documentary Feature
Arizona International Film Festival 2017: Inspirational Filmmaking
Ashland Independent Film Festival 2017: Feature Length Documentary
Cleveland International Film Festival 2017: Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award
Newport Beach Film Festival 2017: Best Documentary
Roxbury International Film Festival 2017: Best documentary Feature
Woods Hole Film Festival 2017: Jury Prize -Best Documentary Feature
Clevelance Film Festival 2017: Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award (nomination)
Dallas International Film Festival 2017: Grand Jury Prize Documentary (nomination)
Mill Valley Film Festival (2017): Valley of the Docs (nomination)
Woods Hole Film Festival 2017: Audience Award Best Documentary Feature (nomination)
“As heartbreaking as it is uplifting, as shocking as it is life affirming.”
TWI-NY