Documentary backdrop image for The Secret Pain (2006)

Documentary backdrop image for The Secret Pain (2006)

200675 minPGdocumentary

Gender Equality

The Secret Pain

200675 minPGdocumentary

At 16, Kate Kendel returned to Sierra Leone, where she was genitally mutilated against her will by a feared secret society known as Bundu.

Gender Equality

Genres

Director

Synopsis

At 16, Kate Kendel returned to Sierra Leone, where she was genitally mutilated against her will by a feared secret society known as Bundu.

People

Mette Knudsendirector

Synopsis

Kate Kendel returns to Sierra Leone at age 16 after living with missionary foster parents in Scandinavia. Upon her return, she is subjected to genital mutilation. The documentary details her experiences as she confronts the Bundu, a feared secret society responsible for this practice. Government efforts to challenge the Bundu's power have failed. The film addresses the psychological impact of such physical mutilation on women in Sierra Leone.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Struggle To Survive: The Lives of Four Girls Over Ten Years (2022)

Struggle To Survive: The Lives of Four Girls Over Ten Years

One in every six children die before the age of five, a statistic illustrated by the death of Alaishri from malaria before her first birthday.

Struggle To Survive: The Lives of Four Girls Over Ten Years

Because We Are Girls (2023)

Because We Are Girls

Three Indo-Canadian sisters reveal their experiences of sexual abuse by a relative, a secret they kept for nearly 25 years.

Because We Are Girls

The Girls of Meru (2019)

The Girls of Meru

In Kenya, a multinational team led by lawyer Fiona Sampson and Mercy Chidi Baidoo of Tumaini Shelter pursues legal action for 11 girls facing sexual violence.

The Girls of Meru

One Young Gambian Woman's Fight To Expose Reality Of FGM (2015)

One Young Gambian Woman's Fight To Expose Reality Of FGM

Halimatou Ceesay was cut at the age of nine and now campaigns against female genital mutilation in The Gambia, aiming to end the practice in a generation.

One Young Gambian Woman's Fight To Expose Reality Of FGM

Kidnapped for Christ - Chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe (2023)

Kidnapped for Christ - Chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe

Escuela Caribe, a Christian boarding school in the Dominican Republic, conceals troubling realities behind its facade of rehabilitation for troubled teens.

Kidnapped for Christ - Chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe

Living in fear of FGM in Sierra Leone: 'I'm not safe in this community' (2015)

Living in fear of FGM in Sierra Leone: 'I'm not safe in this community'

Girls in Sierra Leone face huge pressure to undergo female genital mutilation in secret societies.

Living in fear of FGM in Sierra Leone: 'I'm not safe in this community'

"Best Friend" Planned Their Torture and Execution (2026)

"Best Friend" Planned Their Torture and Execution

In Omaha, Nebraska, the Sepanic family vanished under mysterious circumstances, leading to a complex investigation into betrayal and financial desperation.

"Best Friend" Planned Their Torture and Execution

Torture, Death & Slavery: Inside the Deadly Migrant Journey To Europe (2025)

Torture, Death & Slavery: Inside the Deadly Migrant Journey To Europe

The documentary reveals the brutal realities of refugees on their deadly journey to Europe.

Torture, Death & Slavery: Inside the Deadly Migrant Journey To Europe

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison? (2025)

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

Mandaluyong City's Correctional Institution for Women, the oldest women's prison in the Philippines, houses over three thousand inmates amid strict security challenges.

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

Hillary Clinton Interview: A Journey of Resilience and Transformation (2023)

Hillary Clinton Interview: A Journey of Resilience and Transformation

Hillary Clinton reflects on her upbringing in Park Ridge, Illinois, her education at Wellesley College, and her political career, including her time as First Lady and Secretary of State.

Hillary Clinton Interview: A Journey of Resilience and Transformation

The Brutal Reality Of Daily Life In The Viking Age (2025)

The Brutal Reality Of Daily Life In The Viking Age

Viking women played a crucial role in society, as evidenced by archaeological findings from the Oseberg burial and their unique legal rights in Medieval Europe.

The Brutal Reality Of Daily Life In The Viking Age

The most dangerous place for a woman is her own home - True Story Documentary Channel (2022)

The most dangerous place for a woman is her own home - True Story Documentary Channel

Intimate partner violence in the United States claims the lives of at least four women daily, as highlighted through the experiences of survivors seeking justice.

The most dangerous place for a woman is her own home - True Story Documentary Channel

Explore The Secret Pain

Topics FAQ Stream

Browse more like this

One Young Gambian Woman's Fight To Expose Reality Of FGM (2015)

One Young Gambian Woman's Fight To Expose Reality Of FGM

Halimatou Ceesay was cut at the age of nine and now campaigns against female genital mutilation in The Gambia, aiming to end the practice in a generation.

One Young Gambian Woman's Fight To Expose Reality Of FGM

No digital watch option in your country

Kidnapped for Christ - Chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe (2023)

Kidnapped for Christ - Chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe

Escuela Caribe, a Christian boarding school in the Dominican Republic, conceals troubling realities behind its facade of rehabilitation for troubled teens.

Kidnapped for Christ - Chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe

No digital watch option in your country

"Best Friend" Planned Their Torture and Execution (2026)

"Best Friend" Planned Their Torture and Execution

In Omaha, Nebraska, the Sepanic family vanished under mysterious circumstances, leading to a complex investigation into betrayal and financial desperation.

"Best Friend" Planned Their Torture and Execution

No digital watch option in your country

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison? (2025)

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

Mandaluyong City's Correctional Institution for Women, the oldest women's prison in the Philippines, houses over three thousand inmates amid strict security challenges.

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

No digital watch option in your country

The Brutal Reality Of Daily Life In The Viking Age (2025)

The Brutal Reality Of Daily Life In The Viking Age

Viking women played a crucial role in society, as evidenced by archaeological findings from the Oseberg burial and their unique legal rights in Medieval Europe.

The Brutal Reality Of Daily Life In The Viking Age

No digital watch option in your country

The Secret of Me (2025)

The Secret of Me

2025•1h37m•★10.0TMDB

A radical psychology experiment involving identical twins led to a global medical scandal that 19-year-old Kristi uncovers after learning a lifelong secret.

The Secret of Me

Awful Normal (2004)

Awful Normal

2004•1h16m•★8.5TMDB

Twenty-five years after their childhood trauma, sisters Celesta and Karen Davis confront the man who molested them in search of answers.

History of a Secret (2003)

History of a Secret

2003•1h35m•★9.2TMDB

A young woman investigates the mysterious circumstances surrounding her mother's death, seeking answers about her family's hidden past.

History of a Secret

Sands of Silence (2016)

Sands of Silence

2016•1h26m•★10.0TMDB

After 15 years of reporting on sexual exploitation, a journalist confronts her own past while documenting the stories of survivors of sex trafficking.

Sands of Silence

Another Child (2021)

Another Child

2021•1h•★10.0TMDB

A mother and daughter confront deep-seated issues and long-held secrets in South Korea as they seek healing from their family's troubled history.

KillJoy (2024)

KillJoy

2024•1h19m•★6.0TMDB

Twenty-two months after murdering his wife, Kathryn Joy's father returns to the family home, where dark secrets linger from their past.

Girl, Taken (2022)

Girl, Taken

2022•1h40m•★6.5TMDB

A 17-year search for a missing child ends in 2015 when DNA tests confirm a girl at school is the long-lost daughter of Morné and Celeste Nurse.

Kenya (2022)

Kenya

2022•1h30m•★6.0TMDB

One trans woman in Mexico City confronts violence and societal rejection while seeking justice for her friend Paola, who was murdered by a client.

Bertha Lutz: Women and the U.N. Charter (2021)

Bertha Lutz: Women and the U.N. Charter

2021•1h38m•★10.0TMDB

Bertha Lutz played a key role in ensuring women's rights were included in the discussions that shaped the U.N. Charter in 1945.

Bertha Lutz: Women and the U.N. Charter

The Willmar 8 (1981)

The Willmar 8

1981•50m•★7.5TMDB

Eight women led the longest bank strike in U.S. history in 1977, fighting against gender discrimination at the First National Bank in Willmar, Minnesota.

The Secret of the Wild Child (1994)

The Secret of the Wild Child

1994•55m•★8.0TMDB

Thirteen years of extreme isolation left Genie with severe developmental challenges, prompting researchers to study the effects of her tragic upbringing.

The Secret of the Wild Child

In the Name of Your Daughter (2018)

In the Name of Your Daughter

2018•59m•★8.0TMDB

Eight-year-old girls in Northern Tanzania face the threat of female genital mutilation and child marriage during the annual 'cutting season' in December.

In the Name of Your Daughter

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →