In 2011, City of Joy opened its doors in Eastern Congo with the goal of building a peaceful and transformational community for women survivors of violence.
The upcoming documentary from Netflix, out Sept. 7, is centered around the City of Joy community in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which helps women who have experienced rape and torture due to war in the area rehabilitate their lives and become leaders in their community.
According to the City of Joy website, when Eve Ensler first traveled to Eastern DRC in 2007 on invitation from Dr. Denis Mukwege of Panzi Hospital to meet with and learn from women survivors of violence, she was most interested in knowing what solutions they felt would work in the face of such horrible violence. It was these women who birthed the idea of the City of Joy, saying what they most wanted was a place to live in a community so that they could heal – in essence, they wanted a place to turn their pain to power. And so the City of Joy was born.
Watch the trailer below.