Savior Complex

Savior Complex chronicles the controversial story surrounding Renee Bach, a young American missionary who felt called by God to set up a charity for malnourished children in Jinja, Uganda. Years later, shocking allegations arose that Renee was treating the sick children herself, without medical qualifications. 

Detailing Renee’s divisive journey, the three-part HBO documentary series addresses the wider questions around “white saviourism” and the ethics of foreign aid work done in the name of humanitarian and religious ideals. With extraordinary access to Renee herself, as well as her accusers, lawyers, activists, and the mothers who seek to hold her accountable, the series addresses the timely and provocative issues at the intersection of religion, race, and power.

Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jackie Jesko (Vice) and executive produced by Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams (God Loves Uganda, Love to Love You, Donna Summer), the miniseries holds a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with TIME Magazine saying, “What Jesko uncovers isn’t the individual malice of a typical true-crime psychopath. It’s something more frightening in its tenacity: the collective, racially charged hubris of well-meaning, white, often evangelical Americans in Africa.”