Dieudo Hamadi’s Downstream to Kinshasa is a riveting and gut-wrenching documentary that follows a group of disabled Congolese civilians seeking reparations for atrocities committed by Rwanda and Uganda which left over 1,000 Congolese civilians dead and more than 3,000 wounded. Since their own government has done nothing for more than 20 years to seeking justice on behalf of the victims, the survivors decide to make the long trek to Kinshasa to make their case in person. This is among the best of what cinéma vérité has to offer, Hamadi’s patient camera observing the survivors and their struggle for justice without any showy editorializing or maudlin romanticizing of their disabilities. The film is frank and honest, but there is also a warmth and empathy throughout. We see it in the little moments of connection between the survivors that a film focused solely on the issues might be tempted to leave on the cutting room floor. By cutting to scenes of a theatrical production that the survivors have created to educate others about their situation, Hamadi is also able give us the interiority and background that you’re normally only able able to achieve through the use of talking head interviews or direct addresses to the camera. It’s a really nice touch that allows the survivors to tell their stories as they would like them told. Along with some of Hamadi’s other documentary work, he’s begun to create an essential portrait of the Democratic Republic of Congo through cinema. Hamadi is a masterful documentarian whose work deserves to be more widely known.