City of Joy (2016)
Directed by Madeleine Gavin, 74 mins
Devastated by 20 years of violence, the eastern part of The Democratic Republic of Congo is often referred to as "the worst place in the world to be a woman."
City of Joy brings a different story from the region and follows the first class of women at a revolutionary leadership centre in Congo, weaving their journey with that of City of Joy’s founders (2016 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Denis Mukwege, women's rights activist Christine Schuler-Deschryver, and radical feminist Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues) - three individuals who imagine a place where women who have suffered horrific rape and abuse can heal and become powerful voices of change for their country.
A story about the profound resilience of the human spirit, City of Joy witnesses Congolese women's fierce will to reclaim hope, even when so much of what was meaningful to them has been stripped away.
