About BORN IN THE HEART OF DARKNESS
Format: Feature documentary
Country: Italy / Democratic Republic of the Congo
Status: In production
Expected release: 2026
Supported by: Italian Red Cross, Subway Lab
Director: Alessandro Pizzi
Research & script: Renato Pizzi

In 1960, as the Congo enters independence and violence follows the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the country is rapidly pulled into political fragmentation and international intervention.

In Elisabethville, capital of the secessionist Katanga region, Italian Red Cross doctor Giuseppe Cipolat is appointed to lead Hospital 010, a United Nations–supported medical facility operating under strict neutrality. Inside the hospital, civilians, soldiers and peacekeepers are treated side by side while the city outside descends into conflict.

Born in the Heart of Darkness looks at the Congolese crisis from within this fragile space, where medical practice becomes a daily ethical choice and neutrality is constantly tested. Drawing on archival material, personal diaries and testimonies from Congolese and international witnesses, the film reflects on the human limits of humanitarian action in times of violence.

The Book: Link