Congo in Harlem 2 is the second annual series of Congo-related films and events at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem. This year’s program showcases a wide range of films by Congolese and international directors, representing the most important issues facing the Democratic Republic of Congo today. Most screenings will be followed by panel discussions, special events, performances, and receptions. Congo in Harlem 2 will provide audiences with more than the traditional movie-going experience -- it will offer opportunities celebrate Congolese culture, learn about the ongoing humanitarian crisis, engage in dialogue, and get involved.

Highlights of the program include:  October 8th and 9th, Monique Mbeka Phoba, a Belgian-based Congolese filmmaker, will present her films A Bewitched Life and Between the Cup and the Elections. On October 17th, we will kick off International Congo Week with a special tribute to legendary soukous singer Kanda Bongo Man, who will be attendance. To close out the series, there will be a special panel discussion focused on solutions to the child soldier problem, featuring Ishmael Beah (author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) and Jimmie Briggs (author of Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War). Please visit our website for the latest updates and schedule additions.

Congo in Harlem 2 is supported by VDAY, the Caipirinha Foundation, and other organizations. Ticket will be sold on the basis of suggested donation and the proceeds from each event will be contributed to NGOs and organizations working in Congo.

Series Partners: Friends of the Congo, Now AfriCAN, HEAL Africa, V-Day, Cultures of Resistance, Tabilulu Productions, New York African Film Festival, Congo Global Action, Museum for African Art, Yole!Africa, and First Run/Icarus.

Friday, October 8th, 7:30 pm

A Bewitched Life

Dir. Monique Mbeka Phoba, 2004, 52 min.

Monique Mbeka Phoba, the director of the film, spent part of her childhood in Zaire (DR Congo), where witchcraft plays an integral role in people's lives. After moving to Belgium, she lost touch with this aspect of her culture, in part because her parents kept her away from it, even though they were believers themselves. Phoba emabarks on a journey back to her roots, guided by an 84-year old man accused of being a witch in his childhood. Through frank discussions between Phoba and those close to her, the film follows the rhythms of its maker's search to find the meaning of witchcraft in Congo.

After the movie:

Discussion with director Monique Phoba + opening night reception

reception sponsored by Sugar Hill Ale

Evening Co-Presented by The New York African Film Festival

Saturday, October 9th, 7:30 pm

Between the Cup and the Election

Dir. Monique Mbeka Phoba and Guy Kabeya Muya, 2008, 56 min.

Inspired by the 2006 elections in Congo, a group of film students sets out to make a film. They track down members of the 1974 Leopards, Zaire's national soccer squad, the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to qualify for the World Cup. After a dismal first round performance -- the Leopards were outscored 14-0 in three games -- the players returned home in disgrace and drifted into obscurity. The team's captain, however, has fared better and is running for political office in Kinshasa. Deftly weaving past and present, Between the Cup and the Election offers a personal and endearing study of the intersection between sport and politics.

After the movie:

Discussion with director Monique Phoba + reception

October 17th, 2010

Dir. Iara Lee, 2010, 4 min.

Short film about Friends of the Congo and their efforts to raise consciousness about the situation and to support Congolese institutions working for peace.

An Evening with Kanda Bongo Man

A sneak peek at a new documentary about popular soukous singer Kanda Bongo Man, along with a short selection of music videos and interviews. Kanda Bongo Man will be in attendance, along with Lubangi Muniania, founder of Tabilulu Productions, the record label that released Kanda's latest album, Non-Stop Feeling.

AFTER THE SCREENING:

Discussion with Kanda Bongo Man and Lubangi Muniania (founder of Tabilulu Productions) & Congo Week Kick-Off Reception

Evening Co-Presented by Cultures of Resistance, Tabilulu Productions, and Friends of the Congo

October 18th, 2010

Congo in Four Acts

Dirs. Kiripi Katembo Siku, Dieudo Hamadi, Patrick Ken Kalala, Davita Wa Lusala, 2010, 69 min.

Four short films made by Congolese filmmakers who set out to create an alternative to the snapshots of horror and desperation that have come to characterize their country.

 Ladies in Waiting

Directed by Dieudo Hamadi & Divita Wa Lusala

An embattled hospital manager negotiates collateral with a group of new mothers being held at the hospital until they can pay their medical bills.

 Symphony Kinshasa

Directed by Kiripi Katembo Siku

Siku takes a poetic, unflinching eye to the streets of Kinshasa, Congo's capitol. Stagnant puddles, heaps of trash, and bare electrical wires expose the city's imploding infrastructure and absence of public services.

 Zero Tolerance

Directed by Dieudo Hamadi

A Congolese policewoman, who is head of the Sexual Violence Unit, questions two boys accused of attacking and raping a woman on her way home from the market. Her efforts to mediate between the young perpetrators and their victim reveal both the depth of the problem and the community's resolve to address it.

 After the Mine

Directed by Kiripi Katembo Siku

Siku examines Kibushi, a polluted mining town where even the youngest children are enlisted to extract the nation's wealth. The devastating conditions have trapped those who are living there, and this film tells their stories.

AFTER THE SCREENING:

Discussion with Joseph Mbangu (Congolese attorney and activist), Sylvie Muanga Mbanga (Congolese human rights lawyer and women's rights advocate).

Co-presented by Icarus Films

October 19th, 2010

State of Mind: Healing Trauma

Dir. Djo Munga, 2010, 52 min.

Is healing possible for individuals living in a country where over 5 million people have died? Director Djo Munga takes this question on by following Dr. Albert Pesso, a psychotherapist who has traveled to Congo to train health care practitioners in his trademarked method for healing trauma. Munga obsersves Pesso's ambitious efforts with patience and honesty, delicately revealing the deep and complex roots of the challenge at hand.

AFTER THE SCREENING:

Discussion with psychologist Dr. Mark Bolden and other special guests.

Co-presented by Icarus Films

October 20th, 2010

Jazz Mama

Dir. Petna Katondolo, 2010, 30 min.

How do you talk about rape in a place where basic human rights are systematically violated? Katondolo skirts the boundaries of reality and fiction, offering a compelling portrait of Congolese women who stand strong in their communities and denounce the violence they experience.

Weapon of War

Dir. Isle and Femke Van Velzen, 2009, 59 min.

An ex-soldier attempts to reconcile his past by seeking forgiveness from a woman he raped, and a pastor in the Congolese army confronts perpetrators of rape urging them to change, just a he did.

AFTER THE SCREENING:

Discussion with Dr. Roger Luhiri (human rights advocate and former fistula doctor at Panzi Hospital), Jocelyn Kelly (gender-based violence Research Coordinator with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative) and Dr. Lee Ann De Reus (President of the Board of Directors of Panzi Hospital Foundation).

October 21st, 2010

Le Clandestin / "The Stowaway"

Dir. Zéka Laplaine, 1996, 15min

An African stowaway attempts to elude a tenacious police officer in a short burlesque film that sets the serious issue of illegal immigration against a comic backdrop.

Pushing the Elephant

Dir. Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel, 2010, 91min.

"An intimate family drama set against the backdrop of the 1998 conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pushing the Elephant tells the story of Rose Mapendo, who was separated during the conflict from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose survived the atrocities of those years and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona, with her other children. Now, after 12 years apart, Rose and her daughter Nangabire are reunited in the US. Through the story of their reunion, we come to understand the excruciating decisions Rose made in order to survive and the complex difficulties Nangabire faces as a refugee in the US—torn between her painful past and a hopeful future." - Human Rights Watch Film Festival

October 22, 2010

L'Afrique En Morceaux / "Africa in Pieces"

Dir. Jihan El-Tahri, 2001, 100min.

A chronicle of DR Congo from 1994-2000, filmed at the height of the Second Congo War. With astonishing access to key political and military players in the conflict -- including Kabila, Kagame, Musaveni, and Kabarebe -- El-Tahri has created an essential historical document that remains as relevant today as it was nearly a decade ago. Africa in Pieces served as an important reference in the recently leaked UN mapping report, and it’s screening at Congo in Harlem will be the film’s first public showing in the US.

AFTER THE SCREENING:

Discussion with filmmaker Jihan El-Tahri, Jason Stearns (Congo researcher/analyst and former coordinator of the UN Group of Experts), and a very special guest to be announced October 8th. Check back for details! Plus reception.

Co-Presented by The New York African Film Festival

October 23, 2010

***Special Panel***

2:00 pm

Child Soldiers and Youth Leadership

A panel discussion about how youth leadership and entrepreneurship can have a positive impact on the lives of former child soldiers and young people affected by war. Confirmed speakers include Ishmael Beah (author A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) and Jimmie Briggs (author Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War), and Kambale Musavuli (student coordinator and spokesperson for Friends of the Congo). Moderated by Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda, co-founder of Now AfriCAN.

Co-Presented by Now AfriCAN

7:00pm

Katanga Business

Dir. Thierry Michel, 2009, 120min.

Set in one of the world's richest mining regions, Katanga Business is a riveting political and economic thriller that exposes some of the key actors in the scramble for Congo's natural wealth. The impoverished residents of Katanga are pitted against a motley collection of individuals and multinationals all vying for a piece of the action, including a Belgian entrepreneur known as "The King of Katanga", a Canadian CEO attempting to save an obsolete, state-run mine from bankruptcy; a Chinese businessman who just signed the mining contract of the century with the Congolese government; and a wealthy provincial governor, praised by the masses, who struggles to keep the situation from imploding.

AFTER THE SCREENING:

Panel discussion with Peter Rosenblum (Professor of Human Rights Law at Columbia University) and special guests & closing night reception.