“Fight Like A Girl” Shines at Calgary Black Film Festival: A Story of Grit, Grace, and Goma’s Girls

Directed by Matthew Leutwyler, Fight Like A Girl tells the story of an all-female boxing team in Goma, eastern DRC, founded by Congolese boxing legend Balezi “Kibomango” Bagunda in response to the country’s staggering levels of gender-based violence and poverty. Leutwyler met Kibomango while working with his Non-Profit Organization, We Are Limitless, which supports children and survivors of sexual violence in the DRC and Rwanda. The film, a fictionalized narrative inspired by real events, is deeply rooted in raw truth. Local street kids, militia members, and real boxers were cast in supporting roles to enhance authenticity.

In the starring role is Ama Qamata, best known as the lead from Netflix Africa’s most-watched series Blood & Water. She plays Safi, a young woman who escapes forced labor in an illegal gold mine and finds strength, and eventually purpose, through boxing. Hakeem Kae-Kazim delivers a powerful performance as Kibomango.

However, it is the performances by first-time actors Clarck Ntambwe and Blandine Florence that stole my heart. Ntambwe, who plays Aisha, portrays a role strikingly close to her real life as the no-nonsense lightweight champion of North Kivu. She has been training under Kibomango since age 14 and recently won silver at the African Zone 3 Championship. Florence, meanwhile, appears as a fictionalized version of herself, a fierce protector of Goma’s street girls, while currently experiencing real-life homelessness with her toddler child. (MORE)

VITA MAGAZINE CANADA INTERVIEW WITH MATTHEW LEUTWYLER

Travel & Culture

Fighting For Justice: Matt Leutwyler On Fight Like A Girl & The Real-Life Battle in Congo

As Fight Like A Girl opens the 2025 Toronto Black Film Festival, the film’s powerful message has taken on an even deeper significance. In a tragic turn of events, Kibomango, the real-life boxing coach portrayed in the film, was recently killed in rebel attacks in Goma, Congo—just as director Matt Leutwyler narrowly escaped gunfire while in the region.

Now, as the festival shines a spotlight on stories that demand global attention, Fight Like A Girl stands as a testament to resilience, survival, and the fight for justice. In this exclusive Q&A, we speak with Matt Leutwyler about the making of the film, the ongoing crisis in Congo, and how storytelling can be a catalyst for awareness and change. —Noa Nichol

IFFI; ‘Fight Like a Girl’ Chronicles Journey of Congolese Woman

“Fight Like a Girl,” directed by Matthew Leutwyler, takes audiences on a poignant journey through the life of a young Congolese woman who discovers a new purpose in the boxing ring after escaping the clutches of an illegal mineral mine. This compelling film is currently featured in the prestigious ‘Cinema of the World’ category at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

"Fight Like A Girl" Nabs 8 Nominations At The African Movie Academy Awards

The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) nominees for 2023 have been announced, and the Rwandan film ‘Fight Like a Girl,’ starring stars Malaika Uwamahoro, Kennedy Jones Mazimpaka, and Arthur Nkusi, is among the nominees.

Shot in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo over two months, the film directed by American film director and screenwriter Matthew Leutwyler, has been nominated for multiple awards, including Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Soundtrack.

South Africa’s Ama Qamata, best known for her role as Buhle Ndaba Khumalo in the hit Netflix series ‘Blood & Water’, is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role and is the main character in ‘Fight Like a Girl’.

Clarck Ntambwe, who also stars in the movie, is nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, while Antoine Nshimiyimana is nominated for Best Achievement in Production Design.

‘Blood and Water’ Star Ama Qamata to Play Boxer in ‘Fight Like a Girl’

Rising South African actress Ama Qamata, the star of Netflix’s breakout hit Blood and Water, has signed on to star as a female boxer in Fight Like a Girl, an upcoming feature from writer/director Matthew Leutwyler (The River Why, Uncanny).

Qamata will star alongside Nigerian actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Godzilla vs. Kong, Starz TV’s Black Sails) as a young Congolese woman forced to work in an illegal mineral mine who manages to escapes her captors and find a new life for herself after joining an all-women boxing club in the border city of Goma.

MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE - Disconnected Is a Show About the Quarantine - Shot During the Quarantine