The Heart of Nuba
One doctor. One hospital. One million patients.
This page is dedicated to the documentary film The Heart of Nuba. In 2016, we partnered with Human Rights Watch and the Paris City Council to host the first screening of the film in France, in the presence of its director, Kenneth A. Carlson. The documentary follows American doctor Tom Catena, who has served the people of Sudan's Nuba Mountains for years at the Mother of Mercy Hospital, through bombings ordered by Omar al-Bashir, then president of Sudan and still wanted by the International Criminal Court, and through the wars that followed.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion with:
- Leslie Lefkow, Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch
- Jacky Mamou, pediatrician and President of Collectif Urgence Darfour (former President of Médecins du Monde)
- Jérôme Tubiana, independent researcher specializing in Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad; author of Chroniques du Darfour (Glénat, 2010), co-author of New War, Old Enemies: Conflict Dynamics in South Kordofan (Small Arms Survey, 2013), and Guantánamo Kid (Dargaud, 2018)
Afterward, the director and panelists answered questions from the audience.
We announced the event ahead of time and asked our members and guests to share their impressions after the film. We were glad to introduce this documentary to a French audience before its official release, and we are proud to stand with Dr. Tom Catena and the Mother of Mercy Hospital, alongside the film's other partners. On this page, you will find information about the film, about Dr. Tom, and about ways to support him and the people of the Nuba Mountains.
About the film
The Heart of Nuba (2016)
Director/Producer: Kenneth A. Carlson
Executive Producer: Maria Shriver
Producer/Supervising Editor: Jeff Werner
Editor: Sarah Brockoff
Composer: Randy Miller
Vocals: Katrina Carlson, Joel Cyprian, C.C. White
According to the film's official website, The Heart of Nuba is available on Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Sony and Xbox, and in public libraries through Hoopla.
Official synopsis of the film:
Dr. Tom Catena’s patients come to him from hundreds of miles away on foot, in carts, or often cradled in their mother’s arms. Welcome to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, an area of the world so void of humanitarian and media attention that years of war go ignored, and cries for help go largely unheard. Here, this lone American surgeon tends with equal compassion to patients ranging from malnutrition and leprosy, to grave wounds inflicted by the indiscriminate bombings ordered by their own president, Omar al-Bashir. When a government can attack defenseless men, women and children with supersonic bombers, and it doesn’t make anyone’s newswire, something is terribly awry.
The only surgeon within 200 miles, ‘Dr. Tom’ does his best to save lives in the midst of carnage and terror, treating as many as 400 patients a day at Mother of Mercy Hospital, nestled in the heart of the Nuba Mountains. The region is the latest target of Omar al-Bashir, a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Surrounded by a country at war, living under the constant shadow of aerial bombardment, Dr. Tom and his mostly local staff defy Bashir’s ban on humanitarian aid, and work tirelessly to serve the Nuba people. This population of one million Muslims, Christians, Animists and Africans of traditional belief have lived together harmoniously for centuries. Now, together with Dr. Tom Catena, they struggle to survive.
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Sudan has been at war again since 2023, and the Nuba Mountains remain isolated, with very limited access to medical care. Dr. Tom Catena is still the only permanently stationed doctor in the region: today, Mother of Mercy Hospital serves more than two million people, and he works there seven days a week, as surgeon, obstetrician and pediatrician.
