FIGHT LIKE A GIRL PRODUCTION
Richard Henkels talks us through lensing Fight Like a Girl , the first western narrative feature to be shot entirely in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
F rom its opening scenes, Fight Like a Girl pulls no punches, plunging viewers into the brutal reality of its central character. Inspired by true events, the film follows Safi (Ama Qamata), a 19-year-old girl forced to work at an illegal mineral mine in east Congo. The job is dangerous and the men overseeing it even more so, but Safi’s story takes a hopeful turn when she escapes her captors for the border city of Goma. There, she finds a new life and discovers a natural talent for boxing, eventually fighting her way up to the Congolese Championships. Anchored in the real-life experiences of an all-women’s boxing club in the region, the feature is the first western narrative feature to be shot entirely in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). For cinematographer Richard Henkels, bringing to light the story – and the broader context of the region – was a big responsibility but also a privilege. “I’m amazingly proud and feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity, as a white man, to help represent this beautiful country which has been abused over the years,” he reflects. “It’s also extremely important because, unfortunately, what’s going on in East Africa isn’t at the forefront of attention in the media.”
BLOOD MINERALS Branded the rape capital of the world, the DRC has been plagued by decades of civil unrest, violence and corruption. Though one of the poorest countries, it is rich in natural resources, including a wealth of minerals. As Henkels notes: “It’s the only area where coltan and cobalt, essential for lithium-ion batteries in our devices, are found. China foresaw the need for these minerals decades ago and embedded itself deeply in the East African government and, unfortunately, it’s very corrupt. “A general runs the country and none of the money goes back to the people,” he continues. “As well as the legal mines, there’s tonnes more unregulated mineral mines controlled by gangs like the M23 and the FDLR. They rape and pillage, kill the elderly men and take the young boys to indoctrinate them. They take the women as slaves, either on the sex trade or in the slave camps to mine. It’s a horrible cycle of abuse.” The film was shot in just 24 days and cut within a few months, but all told, the process was much longer – beginning years earlier with director Matthew Leutwyler’s charity work in the region. Through his organisation We Are Limitless, which works to support young people in the DRC and Rwanda, he discovered a group of female boxers
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