Rien que la Vérité is a variety show of interviews, performances, and music videos, anchored by a serial family drama that explores social issues—such as HIV/AIDS, sexual and gender-based violence, and conflict resolution—in an immersive and entertaining way. The show is broadcast nationally, reaching an estimated 3 to 5 million people weekly. The first season of the show ended in late 2009, and the second season will start this spring.

You can watch the first three episodes of the first season, subtitled in English, here: episode one — epsiode two — episode three.

Rien que la Vérité is a true mixture of American and Congolese culture. It’s developed in close collaboration with our Congolese cast and crew. Plot lines and character arcs are developed with contributions from the whole team. Script, dialogue, and blocking are workshopped before being committed to the page. Locations throughout Kinshasa are found through friends and relatives. And we pull many of our actors and extras from the neighborhoods we shoot in.

Musicians are superstars in the DRC, and we work with some of the best. In the first three episodes of Rien que la Vérité, we feature guest appearances and performances from charismatic singer and animateur Bill CLINTON KALONJI; songwriting and guitar luminary Jean GOUBALD; and Le KARMAPA, Prince of the Rumba. The musicians we work with look and sound great in front of the millions of people who watch the show, their fans join our audience, the viewers are entertained and educated, and everybody's happy.

Rien que la Vérité's educational strategy is informed by our own research and experience, by the indicators of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the objectives and findings of the Demographic and Health Surveys for the DRC, and the Congolese government's educational priorities. We—and our partners—screen the show in cities from Kinshasa to Bukavu, in schools and clinics, in urban neighborhoods and villages up and down the Congo river. We encourage and support fan clubs, run contests for a chance to win promotional gifts, sponsor concerts, represent at festivals, and our actors appear regularly on radio and television talk shows.

The story arcs for the first three episodes of Rien que la Vérité are laid out on sticky notes

Bill CLINTON KALONJI performs for the camera; he's the musical guest in episode one

Tomas and Ben film the opening scene of episode two

We spent two weeks at the Stade Vélodrome in Kintambo filming all the football scenes for the first three episodes

A father-son conversation is filmed for the third episode

Monzon, Cojack, Ntoya, Ericas, and Fabien film Max begging, borrowing, and stealing to invest in a dubious scheme, in a scene from the second season

Felix, Ericas, Ntoya, Cojack, and Francis film two girls calling to a friend, in a scene from the second season