The Damned

The African continent has always connected evil and witchcraft. It has become a custom to label unwanted children as possessed by the devil; exorcisms are performed on such children and in the case of failure they are thrown out of their homes onto the street. Hundreds of such children live on the streets of today's Kinshasa, with no way to survive except by begging or petty theft. The journey to the dark heart of the black continent leads through various characters who manage to make a profitable business out of such hellish medieval drama. The viewer is witness not just to bizarre stories from the lives of children, but also an incredible catalogue of characters. Portraits of shamans and modern-day exorcists are combined with the testimony of western missionaries. This film represents both a religious mediation and a tempting journey full of images of horror.