Presented by True Walker Production and Friends of the Congo

Goma Lumiere
Benoit Mugabo, 2012, 12 min
Two performance artists, male and female, roam the nighttime streets of Goma with electrified private parts, provoking the public in a spectacle of bewilderment, fascination, and curiosity.

Lobi Kuna
Matthias De Groof, 2017, 46 min.
Lobi Kuna (Lingala for the day after tomorrow and the day before yesterday) follows Congolese artist/photographer Mekhar Kivoso, as he explores the recently renovated Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium. The objects he encounters are at once captivating and alienating, and through his lens, embody a macabre mausoleum of his cultural heritage. But rather than dwelling on the past, Mekhar uses the past to project himself into the future — all while the Royal Museum undergoes a metamorphosis of its own. In Mekhar’s relationship to the museum, Lobi Kuna reveals itself as a poignant metaphor for the confines of Europe, the difficulties of decolonization, and the identity struggles of the African Diaspora.

Followed by a post-screening discussion with director Matthias De Groof.

Congo in Harlem is a showcase of films, exhibits, panel discussions and special events focused on the history, politics, and culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Congo in Harlem is made possible by generous contributions from The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, The New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and Congo Love.

This presentation is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, 2017 Electronic Media and Film Presentation Funds Grant program, administered by the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.