Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, best known for her performance as Komona in the 2012 film ''
War Witch
''War Witch'' (french: Rebelle) is a 2012 Canadian dramatic war film written and directed by Kim Nguyen and starring Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien and Serge Kanyinda. It is about a child soldier forced into a civil war in Africa, ...
(Rebelle)''. Prior to being cast in the film, she was homeless and living on the streets of Kinshasa.
Early life
Mwanza was born in 1997 in
Mbuji-Mayi
Mbuji-Mayi or Mbujimayi (formerly Bakwanga) is a city and the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the second largest city in the country, following the capital Kinshasa but ahead of Lubumba ...
, the third of six siblings, and spent her early childhood in Kasai Province. Her father dispatched her mother and siblings to
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...
when she was eight years old, promising to rejoin them later. There, the children no longer attended school, and her mother held her responsible for the family's misfortune after a
false prophet
In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneou ...
stated Mwanza was a witch. He charged her mother for attempted
exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
s to rid Mwanza of witchcraft, but eventually she was thrown out on the street.
Mwanza spent several years living as a street child in Kinshasa before being cast in the Canadian film ''
War Witch
''War Witch'' (french: Rebelle) is a 2012 Canadian dramatic war film written and directed by Kim Nguyen and starring Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien and Serge Kanyinda. It is about a child soldier forced into a civil war in Africa, ...
(Rebelle)''. She also appeared in the 2013 film ''
Marc-Henri Wajnberg
Marc-Henri Wajnberg is a Belgians, Belgian film director born in 1953. He is also a screenwriter, an actor and the co-founder and CEO oWajnbrosse Productions
His productions are eclectic, overall he has made 2800 very short films – including th ...
.
She later moved to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, where she attended the high school ''École Lucien-Pagé'' and lived with the family of Anne-Marie Gélinas, the associate
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
for ''War Witch''.
Acting career
Mwanza was cast in ''Rebelle'' after director
Kim Nguyen
Kim Nguyen is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for his 2012 film ''War Witch (Rebelle)''. The film was the top winner at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards;Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin saw her in a documentary film on the street kids of Kinshasa. Due to her lack of education, she did not know how to read or write when she was first cast in the film; the filmmakers have since made arrangements to pay for her education and housing until she turns 18. In February 2013, she was granted a visa to allow her to attend the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, as it was the Canadian entry for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
. The visit combined attendance at the awards along with promotion work for ''Rebelle'' while she was in the United States.
Mwanza's performance in ''Rebelle'' garnered her awards including the Silver Bear for Best Actress from the
Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
, the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
and the
Vancouver Film Critics Circle
The Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) was founded in 2000 by David Spaner and Ian Caddell, in order to help promote Canadian films and the British Columbia Film and Television Industry. Its membership includes print, radio, on-line, and telev ...
in 2012, as well as the award for Best Actress at the
1st Canadian Screen Awards
The 1st Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 3, 2013, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2012. and
Québec Cinéma
Québec Cinéma is a Canadian organization based in Quebec, whose mission is to promote and develop the Cinema of Quebec.
The organization's programs include the Prix Iris, the annual film awards for Quebec films; the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, ...
.
Mwanza subsequently wrote a book titled ''Survivre pour voir ce jour'', describing her childhood and experiences in the hope that it would both inspire young people but also bring attention to the 20,000 children who live on the streets of Kinshasha.