Congo Calling review – idealism and reality collide

Stephan Helpert's doc highlights three white aid workers in DRC and asks who really benefits from their presence

The history of NGOs in the global south is a complex one, riddled with palpable accomplishments as well as painful failures. Revolving around three white European humanitarian workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this documentary by Stephan Hilpert examines not only their connections with the local people but also the broader relationship between so-called developed nations and countries whose precariousness is a direct result of imperial exploitation.

Across Hilpert's stories, good intentions coexist with frustrations. Raul is a researcher conducting a study on the rebel groups in DRC. Speaking frankly about his arrival as a spontaneous decision, Raul was confronted by dangers that are more than just facts and figures. At one point, leaders of a rebel group talk of whipping villagers to death and mutilating white political activists. Anne-Laure moved to the country straight after college with little humanitarian experience. After a horrific incident where police shot at volunteers working at a music festival, her Congolese boyfriend Fred became a vocal activist, resulting in his incarceration.