Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 30:
KINSHASA MAKAMBO
Director:
Dieudo Hamadi
Premiere:
Berlin 2018
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, True/False, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Docaviv, BelDocs, Cinema du Reel, Zurich, Durban, Open City Doc, Dokufest, Zanzibar, Indie Memphis
About:
Three young activists struggle to bring free elections to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When the Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, attempts to rewrite the nation’s constitution to allow him to remain in power following the end of his second term in office, protests erupt to demonstrate opposition. Among the resistance are three young activists who each have different approaches. Ben, who has fled for his own safety after organizing rallies, returns to the Congo and contemplates uniting forces with the elderly leader of the opposition, also recently returned from exile. Jean-Marie, following a prison term for his own dissidence, resorts to ineffectual psychological warfare. Christian, far more radical than his friends, strongly dismisses any compromise. While the filmmaking tends towards the by now overly familiar, herky-jerky, immersive handheld variety, the protagonists’ competing approaches in the face of seeming hopelessness is what makes this project compelling.
what (not) to doc 