Location: Central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Lake Tanganyika (with
Tanzania on the other side), Zambia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Central African
Republic, and Sudan
Capital: Kinshasa (also largest city)
Population: Nearly 69 million
Languages: French (official), also Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili and Tshiluba
Diversity: As many as 250 ethnic groups have been identified; the most numerous people are
the Kongo, Luba and Mongo. There is also an aboriginal population of about 600,000 Pygmies.
Recent Conflicts: The Second Congo War, which officially ran from 1998 to 2003, is
considered the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II. By 2008, the war and aftermath
killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation, and millions of others were
displaced. Fighting continues in eastern Congo, where Congolese, Rwandan and Ugandan rebel armies battle for control of the area’s vast natural resources, including coltan, a metallic ore used in small electronic devices. The eastern Congo also suffers the world’s highest incidents of rape
and other sexual violence against women.
A French trailer for L'Equipe (The Team - Democratic Republic of Congo)
In The Team in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), members of an all-female soccer/football* team, led by two ambitious young players, deal with a barrage of obstacles that mirror the challenges faced by young women throughout this war-ravaged country. The DRC has grabbed headlines for the last 10 years with stories of rape, death and destruction – more people have died in this country than anywhere else since World War II. Women have borne the brunt of the misery, and this television series aims to empower them to set the DRC on a new course.
In each episode, the two courageous but vulnerable young women face the choice of whether to fight the system and act for positive change or to go along with the tide of corruption, exploitation and mismanagement surrounding them.
The Team in the DRC explores issues of sexual violence, corruption, and reconciliation after years of war and conflict. Storylines tackle the topics of tribalism, witchcraft, citizen participation, AIDS and electoral manipulation. The series is filled with action and emotion. The female players lead a strike, organise a fundraising match, protect children from abuse, and eventually vote the team’s president out of office, learning hard lessons about honesty, allegiance, and ethics along the way.
“The series enables us to give the viewer an insight into the female experience in DRC. We are able to show young women with a desire to act for positive change, but confronted with obstacles on all sides.… But it’s not demonising of men either, and the men are complex characters also under numerous societal and political pressures, often from women, to do the wrong thing…
This is a story about the change that is taking root, largely unseen amidst the continuing horrors in the DRC. We hope that it can inspire and motivate, shift perspectives and widen horizons.”
--Lena Slachmuijlder, Director of Search for Common Ground in the DRC
* The sport known as soccer in the United States will hereafter be referred to as football, as it is known in the rest of the world.
Facts about The Team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The production is a collaboration between Search for Common Ground in the DRC and local production company Cyber Pictures.
The series was shot in the suburbs of Kinshasa to reflect a semi-urban setting.
Actors are locals from Kinshasa, including three homeless children in the main child roles.
