What to know
- Muganga: The One Who Treats tells the story of Dr. Denis Mukwege and his work supporting survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- Director Marie-Hélène Roux spent more than a decade bringing the story to the big screen, with a focus on survivors’ strength, resilience and humanity.
- Mukwege’s approach combines medical, psychological, socio-economic and legal support for survivors.
- The film also explores how global demand for minerals used in everyday technology connects audiences to the ongoing conflict in the DRC.
For more than a decade, director Marie-Hélène Roux has been working to bring a story from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to audiences far beyond its borders.
Her film Muganga: The One Who Treats follows the story of Dr. Denis Mukwege, the Congolese gynaecologist who became internationally known for treating women who survived conflict-related sexual violence, which includes rape and brutal genital mutilation. Inspired by a true story, the film centres on Mukwege’s work treating thousands of survivors, as well as his relationship with Belgian surgeon Guy Cadière, whose arrival would help breathe new life into his mission.
Speaking with Brandon Gonez for The Brandon Gonez Show, Roux and Mukwege discussed the making of Muganga, the realities behind the story and why they believe film can help turn awareness into action.
Bringing Dr. Mukwege’s story to the big screen
Roux says she first came across Mukwege’s work in 2014, and was surprised to have known the alarming issues had been going on for at least 30 years prior without a sound.
“Women’s bodies have always been used as weapons of war, but I was shocked by what was happening, and impressed and inspired by how Dr. Mukwege and his team are working day and night, and risking his life everyday,” Roux said. “I think after World War II, it’s the deadliest conflict in the world, and nobody’s talking about it.”
Roux said the film was more than 10 years in the making, with a goal of helping Western audiences understand what has happened — and continues to happen — in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) without presenting Congolese women simply as victims of distant suffering.
Instead, Muganga aims to show the full humanity of the women at the centre of the story: the trauma they have experienced alongside their strength, humour, love, resilience and solidarity, a balance that was important to Roux.
“What I felt was very important to relay in the film as well is the strength, the power, the love, the energy you get from women,” she explained. “There is dance, there is laughter, and that strength, that’s that force of living and of loving, is what I wanted in the film to transpire because this is what I’ve witnessed when I went there.”
The film has also attracted international support, including from actor and filmmaker Angelina Jolie, who joined the project as a producer.
A doctor confronted with the unimaginable
At the heart of Muganga is Mukwege himself and the work that first brought him face-to-face with the devastating consequences of sexual violence.
Mukwege initially trained and worked as an OB-GYN with a focus to support women in a country with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. In 1999, that changed when he encountered women whose bodies had been systematically devastated by sexual violence.
“To see that people could rape, and after raping a woman, to destroy her genital, this was something that I could never imagine that it could happen,” he explained. “Today, in our 30 years after, we are still treating and taking care of victims of sexual violence. So it’s really the lack of awareness, the lack of will to stop the situation, and impunity that is fueling this situation in DRC and in other countries where we have war.”
What followed was the development of a model of care that treats survivors as whole people, addressing far more than their physical injuries. Mukwege’s approach is built around four pillars: medical treatment, psychological support, socio-economic assistance and legal support.
He recognizes that the effects of sexual violence extend far beyond the initial physical trauma, with survivors often facing psychological distress, financial hardship, stigma and barriers to justice. Yet despite the immense challenges women continue to face in the DRC, Mukwege said their resilience leaves him hopeful and in admiration.
“The capacity of resilience of women is very high,” he shared. “I admire women, their capacity not only to fight for themselves and to fight for their rights, but after going through terrible things, to still think about others… Even if I’m facing something very dramatic, I still get hope because I have the impression that women are not thinking about only themselves; they are thinking about the next generation.”
From the DRC to the devices in our pockets
The conversation also moved beyond the hospital and the film to the global systems connected to the conflict.
Minerals extracted from DRC, including coltan and cobalt, are used in products and technologies consumed around the world, from smartphones and laptops to electric vehicles.
That connection raises a difficult question for consumers: how much do we know about where the materials used in the products we rely on come from?
For Mukwege, the film bringing awareness needs to be followed by societal pressure against corporations for greater transparency and responsible sourcing.
“We are all using this equipment, and we are supposed to know that there are companies who are not transparent in what they are doing, using minerals coming from the area where women and children are killed, raped, to get this mineral,” he explained. “So, we can just play our role and say we want to get this equipment, but we want to know where this material is coming from, and it must be transparent. It must be clean, and this can happen.”
Can a film turn emotion into action?
The film made its Toronto debut on Sept. 11, screening at the John W.H. Bassett Theatre inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Previously in 2025, it was introduced to audiences in Paris, France, and later to the European Parliament and United Nations.
Both Roux and Mukwege see cinema as a potential tool for opening real conversations that might otherwise remain distant or difficult to confront.
“There is a will for audiences from young ages to be aware, to be of use, and to make a difference,” she said, adding that all of the screenings so far have been completely sold out.
Mukwege adds that telling the story of Muganga can be a starting point, but it shouldn’t be the ending. The film offers a closer look at the women who have survived violence, with the hope that their stories can spark greater understanding — and ultimately, change.
“It’s very important to not only stop on emotion, because when you have emotion, it’s good. But you have to transform this emotion into action.”
