Downstream to Kinshasa

Downstream to Kinshasa is a compelling documentary that follows a group of war survivors from Kisangani. Civilians maimed in the Six-Day War, a violent conflict between Ugandan and Rwandan armed forces that came to a head in their city, twenty years on they demand justice and the reparations they were promised. Taking matters in their own hands, they journey down the Congo River to the capital of Kinshasa, determined to make their voices heard. A powerful portrait of human strength and resilience and a call to remember those who have suffered at the hands of war.

‘Hearing the testimonials of these survivors was a particularly trying experience. It was like putting salt on unhealed wounds. But what shocked me most was that I realised the suffering of all these people had gone unnoticed. And I realised that this war was a distant, almost buried memory for me too. Not only was the existence of this tragedy ignored, buried away, but it seemed to have been totally erased from people’s memories. No doubt, in a country like Congo where people live “from hand to mouth” and where for decades armed conflicts have killed millions of people, forgetting enables people to go on living. But burying the truth also makes it impossible for a society to nurture lasting peace, it makes it impossible for it to become reconciled with itself and its past.’

Dieudo Hamadi, Director