Uprostřed pralesů na východě Demokratické republiky Kongo leží národní park Virunga, kde jako na jednom z mála míst na světě žijí poslední stovky horských goril. Park se ovšem nachází nedaleko protivládních povstaleckých základen, a navíc v zóně, kde hodlá britská firma těžit ropu. Když povstalci zahájí ofenzivu, ocitá se pod palbou nejen vše, co se neohrožená skupina strážců parku pokouší chránit, ale také filmový štáb. Výjimečný docuthriller nominovaný na Oscara 2015 za nejlepší dokument je strhujícím dramatem o chamtivosti, korupci a bezohlednosti tváří v tvář mimořádnému odhodlání bránit lidskost proti zlu.
Patrice Lumumba se v roce 1960 stal prvním demokraticky zvoleným premiérem Konga. Následujícího roku byl popraven během převratu zosnovaném západními mocnostmi. Lumumbův osud se ve střihovém dokumentu prolíná s příběhy legendárních jazzmanů jako Dizzy Gillespie nebo Louis Armstrong. Jejich hudba sloužila coby kouřová clona pro aktivity vlád snažících se potlačit panafrické hnutí a udržet hegemonii Západu. Režisér Johan Grimonprez v uvolněném jazzovém rytmu a se smyslem pro ironii dějin skládá pečlivě vyrešeršovanou koláž rozhovorů, archivních záběrů a zvukových nahrávek. Při zaplňování bílých míst na mapě studené války si všímá hlavně vazeb mezi kolonialismem a médii.
The true story of the rise to power and brutal assassination of the formerly vilified and later redeemed leader of the independent Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Using newly discovered historical evidence, Haitian-born and later Congo-raised writer and director Raoul Peck renders an emotional and tautly woven account of the mail clerk and beer salesman with a flair for oratory and an uncompromising belief in the capacity of his homeland to build a prosperous nation independent of its former Belgian overlords. Lumumba emerges here as the heroic sacrificial lamb dubiously portrayed by the international media and led to slaughter by commercial and political interests in Belgium, the United States, the international community, and Lumumba's own administration; a true story of political intrigue and murder where political entities, captains of commerce, and the military dovetail in their quest for economic and political hegemony.
Lake Tanganyika is an 'Ocean' in Africa. Millions of years ago it was colonized by a little fish called 'Cichlid'. Otters, crocodiles, cobras and cormorants all hunt the fish in clear water. How the Cichlid survived and evolved is an incredible story for, millions of years later, there are over 200 new species - all found only in Lake Tanganyika. Incredibly, they have evolved to look like coral reef fish. There are cichlid equivalents of tuna, snapper, gobies and goatfish. They have evolved bizarre methods of breeding with mouth-incubation, lekking and, unique amongst fish, there is even a cuckoo. Despite all their specialization over millions of years, if an opportunity presents itself, the little fish can behave like their unspecialized ancestor. In the climax of the film, they bang together to feast on a hatch of sardine fry. This is the story of how one little fish has conquered a lake.
On an African safari with his friend Grant, Clyde Beatty plans to buy some black-maned Numbian lions from Jo Carter but her animals are wiped out by a fire. Despite interference by rival dealer Gorman, who hopes to ruin Jo, Beatty saves her business by helping her to capture an adult gorilla. (2nd story) When Grant is bitten by a tsetse fly and falls ill, Beatty heads for the nearest hospital through the territory of the dangerous Matabeles tribe. They are captured and condemned to death by Grubbs, a white man living with the tribe and stealing their gold. Using the Matabele Boy King as a shield, Beatty and Grant make an escape and Grubbs is forced to accompany them, leaving his loot behind.
Two Congolese men and three Europeans are thrown together as they try to avoid the political turmoil of the Congo.
Sexual violence against women is a very effective weapon in modern warfare: instills fear and spreads the seed of the victorious side, an outrageous method that is useful to exterminate the defeated side by other means. This use of women, both their bodies and their minds, as a battleground, was crucial for international criminal tribunals to begin to judge rape as a crime against humanity.
A thinly-disguised biography of African leader Patrice Lumumba, here called Lalubi. Lalubi, a Christ-like leader determined to save his people, by passive resistance, from the dictatorial regime propped up by European colonialists, is imprisoned and tortured, along with a thief who comes to a greater understanding through his contact with Lalubi.
In Brussels, Belgium, the Royal Museum of Central Africa is undertaking a radical renovation, both physical and ethical, to show with sincerity, crudeness and open-mindedness the reality of the atrocities perpetrated against the inhabitants of the Belgian colonies in Africa, still haunted and traumatized by the ghost of King Leopold II of Belgium, a racist and genocidal tyrant.
Rumba Rules, New Genealogies offers an enjoyable, rough-edged glimpse into the music scene of Kinshasa, with impromptu shots drawing the viewer into jam sessions on plastic chairs, and the quest for perfection at the studio.
A rare documentary made in Brussels in the early nineties collecting witnesses on how local and Congolese musicians enriched each other including internationally known stars such as Manu Dibango, Toots Tielemans, Vaya Con Dios, Phillippe Catherine, Victor Laszlo, Zap Mama...
Children play amidst cycles of thunder and violence.
Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal – when it comes to love and sex, these African countries are caught between tradition and modernity.
Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees, Alpha and Zeferino. Each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in a for-profit prison for months on end without having committed any crime. Thousands more like them can't tell their stories.
After numerous military operations, Major Müller can't find a way back into civilian life. Following his urge to communicate, the Major is looking for listeners and encouragement. He doesn't find either. Instead, the repeated monological memory of his own heroic deeds determines his present – with all the consequences. This 30-minute short film is based on the statements made by the mercenary Siegfried Müller in the documentary “The Laughing Man” (Walter Heynowski and Gerhard Scheumann, DEFA studio for newsreels and documentaries, 1966), as well as records from the German colonial period in Africa. An intensive contribution to the necessary public debate about the consequences of military operations.
From a boy on the streets of the Congo to becoming an NBA champion, Serge Ibaka has risen to a level even he can hardly believe. Watch as he brings the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy back to Africa for the first time, and re-visits all the places he used to go as a young man in this emotional journey.
An ethnographic documentary about the Mangbetu tribe of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The film features a discussion of various rites including the Mangbetu practice of head binding, as well as various examples of traditional music and dance.
After crossing 11 countries irregularly to seek asylum in Canada, Peggy, Simon and their three children are waiting for the hearing that will determine whether they get refugee status or not. Having fled political repression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the family tries to rebuild a peaceful life in Montreal, in spite of the constant threat of deportation. Between ghosts from the past, hopes for the future, a complex legal maze and seemingly endless trial, the film delves into the struggle of the Nkunga Mbala family to remain in Canada. Offering unprecedented access to their hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board, the film unveils the opaque process of claiming asylum in Canada.
In the fifties, when the future Democratic Republic of Congo was still a Belgian colony, an entire generation of musicians fused traditional African tunes with Afro-Cuban music to create the electrifying Congolese rumba, a style that conquered the entire continent thanks to an infectious rhythm, captivating guitar sounds and smooth vocals.