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The power of film cannot be explained, packaged, bought, or sold. There is no formula that guarantees box-office success or critical acclaim, no algorithm to decide what will work and what will fail. What worked for one film may not work for the next. But the power of film cannot be denied. Whether you're a fan of the Hollywood assembly line process or an admirer of the independent DIY process, there's no denying that a film has the power to change a mind, change a life, change the future. William Friedkin's The People vs. Paul Crump saw the documentary's subject released from his death sentence in an Illinois Prison. Pier Paolo Pasalini's Salo supposedly got him killed. Davis Guggenheim's An Inconvenient Truth sparked environmental debates, studies, and policies all over the country. These films and filmmakers, and countless others through history, will go down in the annals of cinematic history for their unwavering determination to deliver a message that they thought needed to heard. Lisa F. Jackson knows the power film can hold and she has proven that by harnessing it her latest documentary, the stunning The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo.

There is a war raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt and is also a major producer of copper, industrial diamonds, and tantalum, which is used the fabrication of electronic components in cell phones and laptop computers. Because of the wealth brought on by these resources, many different factions battle each other for control of the economy and the country. Congo is not only being torn apart by in-fighting, but it also must fight off the threat of invading forces from nearby Rwanda, who are also interested in asserting their control in the already ravaged country. The demographic suffering the most from this pincer warfare is women. With over five million deaths since 1998, an inadequate local police and medical facilities, and over nine hundred thousand square miles of geography, Congolese authorities either ignore or are unaware of the brutal raping of Congolese women that has gone on for decades. The women, who once raped (often by a gang of soldiers) are segregated by their families and villages; left to raise unplanned children without the financial and emotional support of a husband or community. For too long, the victims of rape - who range in age between early teens and late sixties - have had their plight fall on deaf ears. Lisa F. Jackson, a rape survivor herself and thus, more equipped to relate to these suffering women, sought to change that.

Jackson's personal experience with rape allowed her uninhibited access to the stories of many victims and her experience as a filmmaker gave them a voice. The rape survivors are only the tip of the iceberg for Jackson - a jumping off point to uncover how unforgivably vast the atrocities have spread. In her journeys, Jackson visits an understaffed and meagerly supplied hospital that treats rape victims (many of whom suffer irreparable physical mutilation), navigates deep into the bush to talk to perpetrating soldiers, and scales miles of Congolese mountains to uncover the last refuge for victims to experience a rapport with others. Throughout the entire documentation, the film never flinches when confronted with horrific stories nor does it needlessly slant towards a sermon. The images and stories uncovered are those that have been little heard before and their uncovering reveals enough of a travesty that preaching is not necessary. Jackson is able to bridge the gap of accessibility by occasionally injecting fragments of her own rape experience, but this technique is done simply to give a local framing to a global problem. Never once does her voice over or on camera presence imply that the focus should be on her. Even when talking to some soldiers who proudly relay the number of women they've raped and the circumstances under which they occurred, Jackson's voice is a passive one of quiet observance, recognizing that the men, though unjustified in and worthy of spite for their actions, are smaller pieces of a larger puzzle that pathetically hold themselves to a double standard of rape in wartime. There is a human side to them that Jackson doesn't attempt to downplay - the side who would kill the man who raped their sister, daughter, or wife; the side that admits they wouldn't be raping if their quest for control didn't require it.

The film is breath-taking in its documenting the macabre yet simultaneously awe-inspiring in its revelation of deep seeded hope. Despite the brutality many have suffered, the communities in the mountains still deeply root themselves in Catholicism and find inspiration in each other's abilities to overcome and carry on living. Jackson admits that she has no idea where such hope springs from, and after viewing the film, many viewers may be baffled as well. However, the important part is not where the hope comes from, but that it exists at all. Even more inspiring is the idea that now these women have an outlet to tell their stories. Not only did the film have a run on HBO, but it has also been screened for Congress, will be playing the festival circuit with Human Rights Watch, and will eventually be aired on television in Congo. The women in the film are hopeful that the winds of change will be blowing and with Jackson's film, it's not implausible to think that those changes could be sweeping.

To listen to the On the Circuit podcast with Lisa F. Jackson, click here.

This film was screened during its run at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. For more information about Human Rights Watch, click here. For information about the International Film Festival, click here.

To purchase the film, visit Women Make Movies.