news

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo

Published on March 17, 2008

by Harriette Yahr

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo premiered in the Documentary Competition this year at Sundance. Lisa F. Jackson, who has directed and/or edited dozens of films in her more than 30 years of making documentary films, was director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor on The Greatest Silence. Jackson's awards include an Emmy for outstanding informational special, three CINE Golden Eagles, and several festival awards. Her website is www.jacksonfilms.com.

From HBO: "Shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo breaks the silence surrounding the tens of thousands of women and girls who have been kidnapped, raped and sexually tortured in that country's intractable civil war. Director Lisa Jackson talks with activists, peacekeepers, physicians and the rapists themselves, and travels to remote villages to meet rape survivors who have been shamed and abandoned, providing a piercing, intimate look into the horror, struggle and ultimate grace of their lives."

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo took home a Special Jury prize from Sundance and will have its network premiere on HBO April 8.

Harriette Yahr: Congrats on your award at Sundance. What's that like, considering the subject matter is not something very celebratory?

I accepted on behalf of Marie Jeanne, Faida, Immakilee and Niota, women in the film, because the award felt like an acknowledgement of them, not me (that's a good thing).

How do you approach making a film with a difficult subject matter — what was it like working with such emotionally charged material?

The majority of the films I've made, of films that interest me, have some sort of an "emotionally charged" aspect to them, moments of piercing intimacy where people reveal something very private. My job is to make them feel comfortable and confident enough to share that something with me.

I actually turned away from watching and listening to your film a few times because it was disturbing to me. So also I am curious how you as a filmmaker approach your story knowing there will people who may not want to see it?

No filmmaker honestly believes that they are making a film that everyone will watch — that would be crazy-making. But even those who authentically do want to watch The Greatest Silence will turn away too — one reviewer took 6 plus hours stopping and starting to get through it. It's tough to listen to — you can't imagine some of the details I left out — and the true stuff of nightmares. It should be disturbing.

Do you consider yourself an activist or filmmaker, or both?

Both.

Which would you say is your initial impulse, or does that shift?

It shifts. I'm always looking for the activist angle but if it ain't there I'll settle for making a rollicking good entertainment.

I want to ask you a few impact and outreach questions. It seems the first place of impact starts, possibly, with the subjects. Do you think it was maybe healing for some of the woman and girls — maybe energizing too — to participate?

Maybe healing, maybe yes — I hate to impose first-world psycho-babble constructs on the experiences of others. But I do know that the women and girls I met were grateful to find someone who wanted to listen and who would not judge them.

What about impact regarding Congo? What are your hopes with impact there, or do you see your film more about affecting change in consciousness or human rights organizations or other governing bodies that then affect change on the ground? Is this too broad a question for me to ask here?

It's a HUGE question, a whole other conversation. We have ambitious outreach plans including showing the film on DRC TV in April (it's being translated into Lingala right now), helping spark the ICC to bring a prosecution against FARCD officers for sex crimes; beginning international debates about the resource war in Congo and make us consider that there is the blood of Congolese women on our cell phones; bringing world opprobrium on Kabila and his thugs to address the issue of impunity etc., plus screenings at dozens of international human rights films festivals (will open One World and San Francisco), a national college tour, etcetera.

Was there anything surprising that happened during the making of the film?

I learned to love boiled manioc leaves.

Which are... ?

Which are a boiled-to-death mush of leaves from a stubby tree that provides pretty much the basic Congolese staple — they make manioc bread called foo-foo from the root.

Can you talk a little about the funding?

Self-financed until HBO came in at rough cut with first look money that enabled me to return to film the rapists, and the Fledgling Fund helped get me through post-production. HBO bought it for U.S. broadcast about 6 months later, an incredibly gutsy call as I can't imagine a lot of broadcasters in the U.S. running such a film at length and without censoring.

Were the survivors always willing to participate?

There were always the camera-shy ones, but with few exceptions all the women I asked said yes — some waited in line for hours to talk.

How did you feel interviewing the rapists? Please tell me they are miserable hurting men in terrible pain and are suffering greatly for their actions.

They were preening arrogant little [men]. The situation was pretty freaky until I realized how much these odious thugs wanted to be interviewed: to hurt me would jeopardize their moment of fame. Not that I chilled out after realizing that...

It's a big question, why do you think there is so much hate in the world, and specifically in Congo directed at woman and girls in such hateful violent ways? You were there, what do you think? And I won't say "sexual" ways as I make a big distinction between sex and rape, which I consider a violent, not sexual act.

Too big a question — one I've been asking myself for 30 plus years.

Do we all need to think about how we are contributing to this problem by using cellular phones and laptops? Mining for coltan, as you say in your film, is one the components to the mess, as profits from it fund militia groups. Are there companies consciously not using from this area, much like there are conscious diamond companies, or the like?

Motorola claims it's clean. Yes, this is a major campaign we want to launch.

What's next for you?

I've started a film about a group of women living in the slums of Bogotá, Colombia. They are all internally displaced, driven by the civil war away from homes and families, and all have suffered physical/sexual/political violence. I've been twice to film with them and will return every 2-3 months for a year or so to see how they are changing and adapting, or crashing and burning.