'War Witch' gets a U.S. distributor

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NEW YORK, June 13 (UPI) -- Tribeca Film says it has acquired the U.S. rights to Kim Nguyen's award-winning "War Witch," which is about child soldiers in Africa and was shot in the Congo.

The film features a lead performance by Rachel Mwanza, a newcomer discovered on the streets of Kinshasa. In the drama, she plays Komona, a young girl kidnapped by African rebels at the age of 12, forced at gunpoint to slaughter her own parents and to fight as a child soldier against government soldiers in the jungles.

Mwanza has won the Best Actress Award at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as the Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film took home the Founders Award for best narrative feature at Tribeca where it made its North American premiere.

Tribeca Film said it plans a release across multiple platforms in early 2013.

"This film has spectacular resonance at a time when the world has been awakened to the situation of children being conditioned to wage war in Africa," Geoff Gilmore, chief creative officer of Tribeca Enterprises, said in a statement. "Director Kim Nguyen balances heartbreakingly emphatic scenes of conflict, romantic yearning, and lyrical and dreamlike storytelling. We are so proud to be bringing this award-winning film to wider audiences and look forward to taking this exhilarating journey with the filmmakers."

"I am thrilled to have Tribeca Film distribute 'War Witch.' Hearing the team talk about the film is a true inspiration and I am incredibly thrilled to be working closely with them for the release in the U.S.," said writer-director Nguyen.