City of Joy

Since its opening in 2011, City of Joy has been a place of hope and healing for the women of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Founded by Christine Schuler Deschryver and Dr. Denis Mukwege in conjunction with feminist activist, Eve Ensler, it is a community for women survivors of sexual violence.  Madeleine Gavin’s documentary chronicles the institution’s participants working to process their trauma, heal, and give back to their communities. 
Date: Saturday, February 11, 8PM
Location: Miller Theater, 2960 Broadway, Columbia University
Panel to follow screening with director Madeleine Gavin, Eve Ensler, Christine Schuler Deschryver, with Pat Mitchell moderating

Filmmaker Bio:

Madeleine Gavin works in both narrative and documentary film. She is currently editing Rebecca Cammisa’s new HBO documentary about radioactive waste illegally dumped in downtown St Louis. Gavin recently completed work on Katherine Dieckmann’s Strange Weather, starring Holly Hunter and on Damian Harris’s Wilde Wedding starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Gavin has edited several Sundance and Independent Spirit Award-winning films. Other recent credits include Reed Morano’s Meadowland, starring Olivia Wilde; Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s What Massie Knew, starring Julianne Moore; Miranda July’s The Future; Jacob Aaron Estes’ Mean Creek among others.

Gavin was nominated for an Emmy for her work on Rebecca Cammisa’s Academy Award-nominated documentary, Which Way Home. She has edited many documentaries including Participant Media’s A Place at the Table, directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush; Abby Epstein’s The Business of Being Born, among others. Gavin has taught in the writing program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and currently teaches in the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University.

City of Joy is her first film as director.