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Rachel Mwanza is an actress from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, best known for her performance as Komona in the 2012 film War Witch (Rebelle) for which she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. Prior to being cast in the film, she was homeless and living on the streets of Kinshasa.
Mwanza spent several years living as a street child in Kinshasa before being cast in the Canadian film War Witch (Rebelle). She also appeared in the 2013 film Kinshasa Kids written and directed by Marc-Henri Wajnberg.
She later moved to Montreal, where she attended the high school École Lucien-Pagé and lived with the family of Anne-Marie Gélinas, the associate film producer for War Witch.
Mwanza's performance in Rebelle garnered her awards including the Silver Bear for Best Actress from the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle in 2012, as well as the award for Best Actress at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards and Prix Iris.
Mwanza subsequently wrote a book titled Survivre pour voir ce jour, describing her childhood and experiences in the hope that it would both inspire young people but also bring attention to the 20,000 children who live on the streets of Kinshasa.
Her later performances have included the Belgian film Third Wedding (Troisièmes noces) in 2018.Aurore Engelen, "Review: Troisièmes noces". Cineuropa, 6 December 2018.
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