We are thrilled to announce the program for the 5th anniversary edition of Congo in Harlem at Maysles Cinema.
Produced by Maysles Cinema, True-Walker Productions and Friends of the Congo, Congo in Harlem is the first and only U.S. based film series focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our week-long program of films and special events aims to deepen the global community’s understanding of Congo through art and dialogue. Beyond just film, it’s an opportunity to discover Congolese food, music, and artwork, learn about Congo’s challenges, and get involved in efforts for change. Highlights from this year’s program include a spotlight on pioneering Congolese filmmaker Mweze Ngangura who will be in attendance, as well as a range of films from Congolese and international directors, live music and special guests. We hope you will join us and help spread the word.
Congo in Harlem
Oct 18th-27th, 2013
Maysles Cinema
343 Lenox Avenue (between 127th/128th St)
New York, NY 10027
(212) 537-6843
www.Maysles.org
Full program, schedule and advance ticket links available here
www.congoinharlem.org
www.facebook.com/CongoInHarlem
www.facebook.com/events/577747475619789
twitter.com/Congoinharlem
Friday, Oct. 18th,
Congo in Harlem 5 : Off-site Panel: Art and Media in Congo
SocDoc at the School of Visual Arts – 136 West 21st Street
7:00 pm: Six internationally acclaimed artists with recent or in-progress works in Congo come together to discuss their processes, perspectives and interests in Congo as a site of art production.
Followed by reception.
Moderator: Neelika Jayawardane, Professor, SUNY Oswego and contributor, Africa is a Country
Panelists: Petna & Cherie Katondolo, Filmmakers & Founders, Yole!Africa Cultural Center; Richard Mosse, Photographer, Infra; Renzo Martens, Filmmaker & Founder, Institute for Human Activities; Dan McCabe, Photographer & Filmmaker, This is Congo; Shana Mongwana, Filmmaker/Actress & Founder, Africa Lives!
This is a free event, but seating is extremely limited. Reservations through Brown Paper Tickets are highly encouraged. Limit 2 tickets per reservation order.
Reserved places must be claimed at least 15 minutes prior to the event as stand-by list will be opened at this time.
Sunday, Oct. 20th, 12:00 pm
Congo in Harlem 5 and Film Voyagers
Film Voyagers is a Maysles Cinema program of films catered towards younger children ages 3 to 7, and their parents. Priority admission forMaysles Cinema Family Members to Film Voyagers programs, and $8 suggested donation for non-members. Become a member
Bobo and Kipi
4 episodes, 50 min. total
Join Bobo the bonobo, Kipi the okapi, and their many friends in their magical village in Congo and discover an extraordinary world where every adventure offers a unique opportunity to learn. Bobo & Kipi is a fun-filled, action-packed, music-laden children’s TV show incorporating puppets, animation and live- action
Sunday, Oct. 20th,
Congo in Harlem 5 ***Opening Night Celebration***
Co-Presented by Yole!Africa and WILPF-NY Metro Branch
Mabele Na Biso
6:00 pm
Mabele Na Biso (Our Land)
Petna Katondolo, 2013, 33 min
French and Swahili w/English subtitles
‘Aid’ and ‘Independence’ are terms that riddle the rhetoric of Western engagement with and imagination of Africa. But what is independence in our increasingly globalized world? Mabele Na Biso (“Our Land”) takes us on a journey through time and space to explore one region’s commitment to autonomy and self-determination. Through the unlikely story of a radio station that has been modified to run on a generator fueled by locally produced palm oil, we see a different story of African independence – one rooted in a history of defiance that has become a model of community engagement.
Preceded by Sarah
TD Jack Muhindo, 2013, 10 min
Followed by post-screening discussion with filmmakers Petna Katondolo & Cherie Rivers, film subject Samuel Yagase and special guests TBA plus reception with live musical performances by Isaac Katalay and Lyke Mike.
Monday, Oct. 21st,
Congo in Harlem 5
Berlin 1885
7:30 pm
Berlin 1885: The Division of Africa
Joel Calmettes, 2011, 84 min
French w/ English subtitles
In 1885, representatives from the Great Powers of Europe came together in Berlin to set up guidelines for the division, colonization and economic exploitation of the continent of Africa. No African representatives were invited. Central to the negotiations of the “Berlin Conference on Africa” was the establishment of Congo as a free trade zone under the personal rule of Kind Leopold II of Belgium. Rich archival and scholarly material, plus dramatic reenactments based on transcripts of the Conference proceedings provide an insightful window into the events that would launch the Scramble for Africa and a turning point for millions by the hands of a few.
Followed by post-screening discussion with special guests TBA.
Tuesday,
Oct. 22nd, Congo in Harlem 5
7:30 pm
The Irresistible Rise of Moise Katumbi
Thierry Michel, 2013, 83 min
French and Swahili w/ English subtitles
Wealthy Congolese businessman, Moïse Katumbi, is not only governor of the African province of Katanga, rich in precious minerals, but also president of the area’s famous soccer team, “TP Mazembe.” Media, sport, politics and business are all the ingredients of the cocktail concocted by this new African messiah named Moïse. He is the symbol of a new leadership that gains power through ballot boxes and elections, as well as being a symbol of a democracy based on business and populism. A rival of Congo’s President, Joseph Kabila, will Moïse one day be elected the country’s leader?
Wednesday, Oct. 23rd,
Congo in Harlem 5 : Documentary Shorts Showcase
Congolese Dreams
7:30 pm
A collection of short documentary films by Congolese directors.
Marché Koweit
Paul Shemisi, 2013, 15 min
French and Lingala w/ English subtitles
Congolese Dreams
Philippe Cordey, 2013, 25 min
French w/ English subtitles
Kin Kiesse
Mweze Ngangura, 1982, 26 min
French and Lingala w/English subtitles
Followed by post-screening discussion with director Mweze Ngangura.
Thursday, Oct. 24th,
Congo in Harlem 5
Co-presented by California Newsreel
Pièces d’Identités (Pieces of Identity)
7:30 pm
Pièces d’Identités (Pieces of Identity)
Mweze Ngangura, 1998, 93 min
French w/ English subtitles
A Congolese king arrives Brussels in search of his long-lost daughter. What masquerades as a simple fable raises some of the most troubling issues of identity facing people of African descent in the ever-widening Diaspora of the late 20th century.
Followed by post-screening discussion with director Mweze Ngangura.
Friday, Oct. 25th, Congo in Harlem 5
Vol Spécial (Special Flight)
7:30 pm
Vol Spécial (Special Flight)
Fernand Melgar, 2011, 100 min
French w/ English subtitles
Each year, thousands of men and women in Switzerland are imprisoned without trial or sentence. Simply because they stay in the country illegally, they may be deprived of liberty for up to eighteen months before being deported. Filmmaker Fernand Melgar immersed himself for 9 months in the administrative detention centre Frambois in Geneva, one of the 28 deportation centers for the paperless in Switzerland, many of whom have been established in Switzerland for years. From Jeton, a Kosovo Roma refugee, to Serge from Congo, they pay their social insurance contributions and send their children to school… until the day the immigration authorities arbitrarily decide to imprison them to ensure their departure.
The problem is that no inmate is willing to leave the country voluntarily. Thus begins a relentless administrative procedure to force them to leave.
Followed by reception at Les Ambassades Bar & Restaurant with live musical performances by Lyke Mike and Rafiya (341 Lenox Ave , right next door to the Maysles Cinema).
Saturday, Oct. 26th,
Congo in Harlem 5 : Panel Discussion:
United Nations Peace Framework
3:00 pm
On February 24, 2013, eleven African nations came together in Addis Ababa to sign the UN-drafted Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement in a new effort to bring stability to the Great Lakes region.
A response to escalated violence in eastern Congo, the Framework Agreement outlines mechanisms aimed at addressing both regional and national obstacles to peace. But after 14 years of the UN mission in Congo, how is this initiative different from past efforts? How will this peace agreement work alongside current military actions and political negotiations? What are the effects on the local population?
A special panel of experts with extensive experience in the Great Lakes region will offer their perspectives and answer audience questions.
Speakers: TBA
Saturday, Oct. 26th,
Congo in Harlem 5
Co-presented by California Newsreel
La Vie Est Belle
7:30 pm
La Vie Est Belle (Life is Rosy)
Mweze Ngangura and Benoit Lamy, 1987, 80 min
French w/ English subtitles
Legendary Congolese musician Papa Wemba plays a poor country boy with music in his heart and big dreams. He travels to the city, where he falls in love with second wife of a prominent club owner. Can he win her hand and fulfill his dreams of being as singer?
Followed by post-screening discussion with director Mweze Ngangura + Reception with live musical performance by Isaac Katalay & the Life Long Band.
Sunday, Oct. 27th,
12:00 pm
Congo in Harlem 5 and Film Voyagers
Film Voyagers is a Maysles Cinema program of films catered towards younger children ages 3 to 7, and their parents. Priority admission forMaysles Cinema Family Members to Film Voyagers programs, and $8 suggested donation for non-members. Become a member
Bobo & Kipi
4 episodes, 50 min. total
Join Bobo the bonobo, Kipi the okapi, and their many friends in their magical village in Congo and discover an extraordinary world where every adventure offers a unique opportunity to learn. Bobo & Kipi is a fun-filled, action-packed, music-laden children’s TV show incorporating puppets, animation and live- action.
Sunday, Oct. 27th,
Congo in Harlem 5 : Fiction Shorts Showcase
Oolongo
3:00 pm
Three short films by emerging Congolese directors from Kinshasa.
In French, Lingala and Swahili w/ English subtitles.
Mbote!
Tshoper Kabambi, 2012, 30 min
Lingala w/ English subtitles
Olongo
Clarisse Muvuba Mwimbu, 2012, 24 min
Lingala w/ English subtitles
Dubious Customer
Patrick Ken Kalala, 2012, 23 min
Swahili w/ English subtitles
Watch Crisis in the Congo
www.congojustice.org
Kambale Musavuli
National Spokesperson
Friends of the Congo
1629 K Street, NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Work Phone: 202-584-6512
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Break the Silence Speakers Tour
From February to July
Sign up at www.congoweek.org
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