Beneath The Surface

DRC: North Kivu, Beneath the Surface is an MSF film documenting the human cost of the escalating conflict in eastern DRC following the AFC/M23 armed group's takeover of Goma in January 2025. It goes beyond the headlines to show what life looks like for ordinary people caught in the crisis — residents displaced multiple times, families surviving in overcrowded and unsanitary camps, and the collapse of access to basic services including healthcare, water, and food. The film highlights the scale of displacement — over 700,000 people around Goma alone — and the conditions in sites that were already beyond capacity before the latest escalation. It also reflects MSF's struggle to maintain medical operations as hospitals become overwhelmed and front lines shift unpredictably, with teams treating mass casualties while navigating active fighting around health facilities.