War Witch  War Witch () 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, and who is believed to be a witch. The film was primarily shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in French and Lingala. After premiering at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, the film received positive reviews. It won several honours, including ten at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards, notably Best Motion Picture. "War Witch" was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. During a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa, a 12-year-old girl named Komona is abducted by rebel forces to become a child soldier under a warlord known as the Great Tiger. The rebels compel Komona to kill her own parents. Then, she is sailed to a deserted island with many more children. They are taught to use large weapons and forced to go to war with the rebels. After drinking tree sap, she begins to experience vivid illusions. When her visions enable her to survive an attack, she is considered to be a child witch and is viewed as an asset by the Great Tiger, who also attempts to make her a concubine. Komona and her young love interest, a boy with albinism known as Magician, eventually escape the rebels and move to a town. He hopes to marry her, and she asks him to capture a mystical white rooster to secure her agreement. However, she is kidnapped by one of the Great Tiger's commanders and Magician is killed. After Komona is raped by the commander, she kills him and runs away to her deserted home town, narrating her life story to her fetus. There she gives birth to a baby boy whom she names after the magician. Montreal director Kim Nguyen wrote the screenplay over a period of 10 years, inspired by an article about children in Burma leading a rebellion force. In researching the film, Nguyen met real child soldiers and humanitarian staff. He envisioned his project as "a redemption story about a child who lives through war and peace." "War Witch" was primarily filmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nguyen discovered Rachel Mwanza and numerous other child actors for his cast in Kinshasa, DRC, after open auditions. Mwanza had never acted before, and was 15 by September 2012. Nguyen said that "Rachel was living in the streets before we did the film".