War Witch

War Witch (Rebelle, 2012) is a Canadian war drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Kim Nguyen. Somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, a twelve-year-old girl named Komona is taken by a rebel militia.

She tells the story herself, narrating it to the child she is carrying. A burned village. A rifle pressed into small hands. A commander who decides Komona is a witch who can sense ambushes and keep his fighters alive. Her one bit of warmth is an albino boy a little older than her, and together they try to run — not to win anything, just to stay human. Nguyen films the horror quietly, almost matter-of-factly, which makes it land harder.

Rachel Mwanza was found on the streets of Kinshasa and won the Best Actress prize at the Berlinale for this role. The film went on to represent Canada in the Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film. Bleak, tender and hard to shake. Stream War Witch (2012) online on iFILM.