Madeleine Gavin works in both narrative and documentary film, primarily as an editor. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work on Rebecca Cammisa’s documentary “Which Way Home” and is currently working with Cammisa on her new HBO documentary about radioactive waste in downtown St. Louis. Gavin recently completed work on “Wilde Wedding” and on “Strange Weather,” which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Her other credits include documentaries “A Place at the Table,” “Truth in Numbers? Everything, According to Wikipedia,” “The Business of Being Born,” as well as narratives “What Maisie Knew,” “The Details,” Reed Morano’s “Meadowland,” and Miranda July’s “The Future.” “City of Joy” is Gavin’s directorial debut.
“City of Joy” will premiere at the 2016 DOC NYC film festival on November 11.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
MG: Drowning in violence for nearly 20 years, the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is often referred to as the worst place in the world to be a woman. “City of Joy” tells another story of that region.
The film focuses on the first class of girls at a leadership center in the Eastern Congo. It also focuses on the founders of this center, three activists who imagined a revolutionary place where women who have suffered horrific rape and abuse can learn to lead, in spite of all that they have endured.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
MG: For a period of time, I was making short web pieces that tracked some of the work Eve Ensler, author of “The Vagina Monologues,” and V-Day, the movement that she founded, were doing to end violence against women and girls around the world.
I remember the first piece I did about the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eve had arrived there for the first time and she and two of the characters in the film, Congolese activists Christine Schuler Deschryver and Dr. Denis Mukwege, a 2016 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, had just met and City of Joy, the place, was in the early stages of being conceived.
In creating these web videos, I heard stories from women in several parts of the world but the stories from the Democratic Republic of Congo were indelible. These women had been victims of rape and gender abuse, and the brutality of what they had endured was unimaginable to me: the torture, the devastation to their bodies, to their families, to their children, to their homes.
These were women who had in many cases lost everything that was meaningful to them. It was crushing to imagine both what they had been through and how they could go on.
But what was equally arresting was the resilience of these women. This was palpable. My daughter was young at the time and I was sure that if I had seen my daughter endure what they had or if my daughter had witnessed such things, that I would’ve imploded and my life would’ve ended from the sheer inability to imagine moving on. And so I was in awe: I was in awe of women who believed that life could be meaningful after what they had endured. That is what initially drew me to this story.
Once we started shooting, and I met the two extraordinary Congolese activists in the film and saw what they and Eve Ensler were doing, I felt even more compelled to try and communicate this story: Congo has experienced decades of war, nearly a century of brutal colonialism, the rape and murder of close to eight million people, and yet these individuals had found a way to believe in a future for their country and to fight for that. That devotion to hope in the face of such hopelessness around them was an inspiration.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
MG: When people leave the theater, I hope they will be moved by the people in this film. I hope they will be appalled and outraged by what the women have suffered and I hope they will begin to glimpse how connected the world is — that we can’t separate corporate greed from violence in villages that we could never even find on a map.
I also hope people will leave the theater with the belief that change is possible and the understanding that we all have a role in that. If these girls at City of Joy are finding ways to move beyond experiences that would paralyze many, I hope audiences will want to join their fight.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
MG: One of the biggest challenges in making this film was finding the balance between the devastation of what these women have suffered and the incredible force of hope and joy that they embody. I didn’t want people to go numb in the watching of the film, to be so torn up that they were forced to shut down and stop listening. Finding this tension between tones was very important to me.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
MG: We were incredibly lucky to have had Impact Partners Film, Artemis Rising, Amy Rao, and Wendy Schmidt come in very early in the process. We would never be here without their support. We also had several other key investors who came in at critical times. This film had enormous support and I am grateful to the many people who helped make this happen.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at DOC NYC?
MG: DOC NYC is fast becoming one of the most important documentary festivals in the country and I’m honored that Thom Powers, DOC NYC’s Artistic Director, and the team selected our film. We are also premiering in a theater with fantastic sound and image quality — both of which are huge for any filmmaker — so I’m thrilled about that.
The fact that our world premiere is taking place in New York City has allowed key people in the film to attend. I am very excited for audiences to be able to meet these heroic individuals.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
MG: To try to be as specific and true to what you want to explore in your film. To listen to others and always challenge yourself to be open to new ideas, but to never do something that undercuts the central core of your project. And to try and figure out the difference as best you can.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
MG: There are many great women directors and, in my work as as an editor, I’ve been lucky enough to work with several of them, but I think I have to single out Andrea Arnold. She’s a master of visceral, visual poetry. She can lace moments of tenderness into the most brutal sequences and her social commentary is seamlessly woven into very personal stories. “Fish Tank” is a masterpiece. Her characters are nuanced and complex but never labored; she’s a genius with actors.
Another woman I have to mention is Gillian Armstrong. She’s made some great films, but my favorite is “High Tide,” a searing film that, in my opinion, boasts Judy Davis’ strongest performance ever.
W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?
MG: I think opportunities have opened up and I think the attention has helped. It’s made people more aware of their unconscious instincts and hidden biases, and that is often the first step toward combating those things.
I think the fact that there are so many women directors at DOC NYC this year is a sign of good things to come.
