Shorts Exclusive: Doc Contender ‘Seeds from Kivu’ to Stream Exclusively on YouTube

NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES – The documentary short film “Seeds from Kivu” (in Spanish: “Semillas de Kivu”), winner of the Spanish Academy’s prestigious Goya Award for Best Documentary Short Film (Mejor Cortometraje Documental), will be released globally on YouTube by Watch Documentaries on Tuesday, November 25, marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. “Seeds From Kivu” is directed by Néstor López and Carlos Valle.

In Kivu (DR Congo), several women arrive at Panzi  Hospital, run by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, after being gang-raped by local militias. The psychological treatment they receive confronts them with the dilemma of whether to accept the babies they have given birth to.

Dr. Mukwege is a world-renowned gynaecologist, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate from east DR Congo. He has become the world’s leading specialist in the treatment of wartime sexual violence and a global campaigner against the use of rape as a weapon of war. Ahead of this release, Dr. Mukwege will attend a special screening in the U.S. and will be available for interviews during his visit.

”We’ve spent 8 years working on Seeds from Kivu, and almost 9 years in the Kivu region (DR Congo). This is our third film project there, and it has taken years to earn the trust of many people in the region, but today we are grateful for everything we’ve built together. Kivu needs help, and it’s urgent. The international silence, fueled by the technology market, prevents the world from seeing what is happening there: a woman or girl is raped every 30 minutes (according to UN data), and thousands of children are born from sexual violence. The war crimes have still not been prosecuted to this day. This is why we made this film. We are filmmakers, and we believe that cinema is a pickaxe we can use to strike a wall, open a hole, and invite people to look through it. Seeds From Kivu is the pickaxe. The recognition and awards it has received are the hole. We want to invite you to look at the most beautiful place on the planet, a place that deserves peace after so many years of war.”

Dr. Denis Mukwege said: “Seeds from Kivu captures the heart of our work at Panzi: restoring dignity, healing deep wounds, and standing with survivors as they rebuild their lives. In a time when conflict is intensifying, this film is a vital call for solidarity and for peace in Congo.”

“Seeds of Kivu” has screened at over 200 film festivals and special events globally and is the first European film on the subject of violence against women to be screened at the European Parliament, United Nations, and the Vatican.

“Seeds of Kivu” won the Goya Award for Best Documentary Short Film 2025 from Spanish film Academy. It was a Selection Les Nuits d’Or for the César Awards from the French film Academy. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at DocsMX and recipient of the Immaculate Heart Community Filmmaker Award at LA Shorts International Film Festival, the Audience Award at Villeurbanne (France), Best Short Film at I-Fest (Italy), a Special Mention at Human Rights Festival Naples (Italy), the Amnesty International Spain Award at Abycine, and Best Short Film at Porto Femme (Portugal)

The film played also played Pan African Film & Arts Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico), Millennium Docs Against Gravity (Poland), Kortfilmfestivalen Leuven (Norway), 69th Seminci (Spain), ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival, Psarokokalo (Greece), 55th Annual USA Film Festival, and more.

Néstor López and Carlos Valle are the directors and producers of Seeds From Kivu. López has won three Goya Awards as a director and producer. He has also received the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, participated in the Berlinale Co-Production Market, and been selected in the Official Section of the Venice Biennale, as well as festivals such as Sitges, New York Shorts, Beijing, and Galway. He was co-producer of The Masterpiece, the most awarded short film worldwide in 2024, which reached the shortlist of the Academy Awards. He has also been selected for IDFA Academy, Ji.hlava Academy, and Rotterdam, and was included in Forbes’ Top 100 Creatives list. Valle won the Goya Award for this film and received a nomination for his previous short film, Nacer. His first work, the documentary La Silla de la Vida, screened at more than 100 festivals.

Featuring Dr. Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize laureate), directed by Néstor López and Carlos Valle, produced by Pilar Sancho and Iván Miñambres, writer Néstor López, music composer: Arturo Cardelús, with support from Amnesty International, UN Women, and Panzi Foundation. Sales handled by WeShort.