Canadian child-soldier drama ‘Rebelle’ nominated for Independent Spirit Award

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Canada’s entry in this year’s best foreign-language Oscar race, “Rebelle” (“War Witch”), is now up for an Independent Spirit Award in the U.S.

Montreal writer-director Kim Nguyen’s unflinching drama, about a teen girl who’s forced to become a child soldier in Sub-Saharan Africa, received a Spirit Award nomination for best international film on Tuesday.

Its competition includes “Rust and Bone,” a France/Belgium drama starring Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard as an injured orca trainer and Flemish actor Matthias Schoenaerts as her love interest.

The category is rounded out by Michael Haneke’s French couple drama “Amour,” the Turkish thriller “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” from director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and the Switzerland sibling tale “Sister” by Ursula Meier.

The French-language “Rebelle” stars Congolese newcomer Rachel Mwanza as a 14-year-old who is forced to fight with, and become a sex slave for, a rebel commander (Montreal’s Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien).

Mwanza’s performance has already earned her prizes at the Tribeca and Berlin film festivals.