?War Witch? Packs Powerful Child Soldier Story With Eye On Oscar

A moving and emotional powerhouse, Canadian director Kim Nguyen's War Witch packs a punch worthy of the best of conflict thrillers, though more shocking is that the events depicted in the feature, which is Canada's contender for Best Foreign-language Oscar consideration, are happening every day. The story of a teen girl who is kidnapped by Congo rebels after she is forced to execute her parents left audiences aghast at AFI Fest where it screened this week.

Hailing from Canada, Nguyen may seem an unlikely filmmaker to take on some of the most notorious human rights tragedies of modern times, but he became interested in child soldiers after meeting a former youth who became lead a pack of others in a violent uprising in Africa.

"There was this kid named Johnny who was a child soldier who was nine years old and smoked cigars everyday. He said he woke up one day thinking he was a reincarnation of God," Nguyen told ML. "He had a [group] of soldiers that he lead in a rebellion against the government. The sheer madness of it all struck me and it pushed me to pursue this story."

The French-language feature, which won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, stars non-pro Rachel Mwanza who plays a 14 year-old girl who becomes an important spiritual figure for a brutal leader of a band of violent rebels. The "Great Tiger" as he is known to his followers, believes she is a war witch who is capable of seeing government soldiers in the thick jungle. She is given preferential treatment, but she is also aware that if she fails in her job, she will likely be executed quickly. Another child soldier whom she calls "Magician" looks out…

Source: http://www.celebrities.com/celebrities-gossip/war-witch-packs-powerful-child-soldier-story-with-eye-on-oscar/

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Jason Aldean's Wife -- Standing By My (Philandering) Man

A month after his "drunken mistake" with former "American Idol" contestant Brittany Kerr, Jason Aldean walked the red carpet at last night's Country Music Association Awards with his wife Jessica.As TMZ first reported, Aldean made out with Kerr at a bar…

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/02/jason-aldean-cma-country-music-awards-wife-jessica/

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Tom Arnold -- I'm NOT Voting For Roseanne

It's still too early to call ... but it looks like Roseanne will NOT be the next President of the United States ... and her ex-husband Tom Arnold is partly to blame. Of course, Roseanne claims to be a serious candidate to be the next leader of the free…

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/06/tom-arnold-roseanne-barr-election-obama-romney/

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Chic Clicks: Balenciaga?s Designer Has Quit, Gabby Douglas Lands ?Essence? Cover

Joseph Kerlakian/Rex USA –Just weeks after Kristen Stewart praised Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, the designer has announced he’s leaving the fashion house on Nov. 30 [WWD] –Gymnast Gabby Douglas shows off her Olympic gold medal on the cover of Essence‘s December ‘Women of the Year’ issue [Essence.com] –So, how did Victoria’s Secret come to the rescue in the [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/people/stylewatch/offtherack/~3/w3gu86M9BhY/

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R. Kelly -- Boots Rowdy Fan from Concert ... By Singing!

When R. Kelly saw two ladies fighting over a seat at one of his concerts ... he didn't scream for security -- he SANG for security ... and it was all caught on tape. Kelly was in the middle of his show at the Nokia Theater in Downtown L.A. this weekend…

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/05/r-kelly-sings-concert-kicks-security/

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Lindsay Lohan Will Be Charged with Lying to Cops -- Faces Jail Time

10:59AM PDT:  Sources at the L.A. City Attorney's Office tell TMZ ... they were unaware the Santa Monica City Attorney was going to file criminal charges against Lindsay until they read our post this morning.  They are "gathering…

Source: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/06/lindsay-lohan-charged-obstruction-of-justice-jail-pills-pch-lying-to-police/

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