Tribeca is proud to announce that we have acquired U.S. rights to the award-winning film War Witch (Rebelle). Writer-director Kim Nguyen’s powerfully poignant feature, shot in the Congo, received the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, and lead actress Rachel Mwanza won Best Actress recognition at both the Berlin Film Festival and TFF 2012.

Mwanza—who was discovered on the streets of Kinshasa—is riveting in her debut role as Komona, a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by African rebels after being forced at gunpoint to kill her own parents. Once she begins to fight as a child soldier in the jungle, Komona is recognized as a sorceress for her premonitory power to see approaching enemies (in the form of gray ghosts); the supreme leader of the rebels, Great Tiger, soon deems her his “War Witch.” Over the course of several years, the audience follows Komona’s heartbreaking journey as she falls in love with a fellow child soldier named Magicien—Serge Kanyinda, in another exceptional performance from a young actor—while pregnant with another man’s child. As Komona struggles to come to terms with her brutal past, her life story unfolds as a narrative tale of hope for her unborn child.

“This film has spectacular resonance at a time when the world has been awakened to the situation of children being conditioned to wage war in Africa,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “Director Kim Nguyen balances heartbreakingly emphatic scenes of conflict, romantic yearning, and lyrical and dreamlike storytelling. We are so proud to be bringing this award-winning film to wider audiences and look forward to taking this exhilarating journey with the filmmakers.”

Writer-director Kim Nguyes concurs: “I am thrilled to have Tribeca Film distribute War Witch. Hearing the team talk about the film is a true inspiration and I am incredibly thrilled to be working closely with them for the release in the U.S."

Audiences can look forward to seeing a release across multiple platforms in early 2013. In the meantime, War Witch screens tomorrow night (Thursday, June 14) at a benefit for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which kicks off the next day. Tickets are available here.