DOWNSTREAM TO KINSHASA Documentary

USA Premiere

Following the film, AFI Festivals Senior Programmer Ken Jacobson leads a conversation with filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi.

In June 2000, the brutal Six-Day War between Uganda and Rwanda swept through the city of Kisangani, Congo, leaving 1,000 Congolese dead and 3,000 injured. Filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi (KINSHASA MAKAMBO, NATIONAL DIPLOMA) follows a group of severely injured survivors of the war on a truly epic journey down the Congo River as they seek to appeal directly to the national government in Kinshasa for the compensation that they are owed.

Hamadi brilliantly cuts through to the emotional core of every scene, oscillating between desperation, fear, hatred, love and joy. Will this trip be a fool’s errand, a catastrophic disaster or, possibly, one of hope, redemption and the promise of a better life? One thing is certain for these brave individuals: in making this journey, there is no turning back.
–Ken Jacobson