\u201cClarck Ntambwe originally turned to boxing and went to the gym to learn how to fight so she could kill the guys that murdered her dad,\u201d Matthew Leutwyler says of the young woman whose life story provided the basis for the powerful and moving feature film he wrote and directed against the backdrop of tragic conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fight Like a Girl is also inspired by the memory of Leutwyler\u2019s close friend Balezi \u201cKibomango\u201d Bagunda, a former child soldier turned boxing champion who trained women to fight in the ring.<\/p>\n
Ntambwe became one of Kibomango\u2019s star fighters at the women\u2019s boxing club he founded in Goma<\/a> \u2013 the city where the trainer was gunned down soon after the movie was completed. Kibomango was killed by M23 rebels while he was helping Leutwyler evacuate 41 children from a village under attack in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n Leutwyler, an American director who has lived in Africa for the past 13 years, was at the gym, filming a documentary about Kibomango\u2019s life, when Ntambwe arrived with retribution in her heart. \u201cWe have this in the documentary because, when we found out why Clarck wanted to learn how to fight, we sat her down and said: \u2018You cannot join the gym if that\u2019s the case. That\u2019s not what we do,\u2019\u201d Leutwyler says. \u201cSo it took a while before Clarck was any good at boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n The film charts the true story <\/a>of how boxing helped Ntambwe piece together the broken strands of her life. She drew on her deepest reserves of resilience and, guided by Kibomango, reached the final of the African Boxing Championships. Ntambwe makes an impressive acting debut in the movie, playing the part of Aisha, the most serious fighter in the gym who helps the new girl. She now lives in Seattle and, Ntambwe confirms her initial motivation.<\/p>\n \u201cYes it is true,\u201d she says as she switches between her functional English and Swahili. \u201cAt first, when I do boxing, it really was to get revenge on the people who killed my dad. In the gym they could see the anger. But my grandpa had been the first boxing trainer for Kibomango. He taught Kibo how to fight and so I was boxing for me and for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n As she began to heal herself through boxing, Ntambwe became increasingly close to Kibomango. Her tears fall when I ask her about his death. It needs Leutwyler and Ama Qamata, who plays the lead role, to capture the essence of the inspirational trainer.<\/p>\n Clarck Ntambwe (right) training with Kibomango and Ama Qamata (left), who plays the lead role in Fight Like a Girl. Photograph: Matthew Leutwyler<\/p>\n \u201cI met Kibomango because I saw photos of the women he trained on Instagram,\u201d Leutwyler says. \u201cThey were incredible photos and I was like: \u2018Damn, these are so cool.\u2019 I started searching and found a five-minute CNN clip <\/a>on him from years ago. At that time he was teaching ex-child soldiers how to box. I have a restaurant in Rwanda and so I sent him a bus ticket and he came to meet me.<\/p>\n \u201cHe brought this giant box of photographs and we went through them and he told me his life story about being forced to be a child soldier at 12 and overthrowing the government in the late 1990s. A hand grenade went off in his face and blew out his eye. It was then that he decided to leave that life and chase the dream of being a boxer. He boxed in Russia and Venezuela and featured in a couple of fights on ESPN. It sounded like bullshit but, the more I looked into it, the more I realised it was all real.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were incredibly close for five years and it was odd because what does an educated guy from northern California have in common with a God-fearing former killer in Congo? But we both cared deeply about people that were vulnerable, and he saved my life three times. He was a legend in Congo and you\u2019d walk with him through the streets and everyone would cheer: \u2018Champion, Champion!\u2019 But I became involved in this boxing story because Kibo wasn\u2019t teaching these girls to become pros. They were all victims of sexual violence to some degree so he was using boxing as a way for them to get their independence back.\u201d<\/p>\n The cast is a mix of professional actors and ordinary people from Goma. This lends a raw authenticity to many of the scenes but the film relies on Qamata\u2019s sensitive portrayal of the young female boxer haunted by her past. The 27-year-old South African actor made her name in the Netflix drama Blood and Water and she is now the face of L\u2019Or\u00e9al and Adidas in sub-Saharan Africa with more than 1m followers on Instagram.<\/p>\n Fight Like A Girl features professional actors and ordinary people from Goma. Photograph: Chalk+Chilli<\/p>\n Qamata says of Kibomango: \u201cHe was a very cool guy. I\u2019d heard so many stories about him and when we met I was like: \u2018OK, this totally checks out.\u2019 But he was very strict on set during the boxing scenes. He was trying to get me to have that oomph and fire, and he really wanted the boxing to look as good as it could get. A lot of my training interactions with him were brutal. But it mattered to him that I knew what I was doing in the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n She laughs when I ask if she liked boxing. \u201cNo. I knew nothing about boxing. My first time training with Kibomango I was so scared to punch him. I was like: \u2018I\u2019m very dainty but, oh my God, I don\u2019t want to hurt you.\u2019 He said: \u2018Girl, you\u2019re not gonna hurt me. Just punch me.\u2019 It helped that I was training with Clarck and observing her gave me confidence to just go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n