Congolese Women in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture (Congo-Kinshasa - DRC)

Congolese Women in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture (Congo-Kinshasa - DRC)

 

While information on the details of the first woman-directed films from ex-Zaire is not available, the works are credited to Angebi Ngeleba for the 45-minute, 16 mm film Bakola Miziki released in 1980, and Kilaba Ngansem Lhape for the film Oeuvre Maman Mobutu co-directed with Bokufa Bosomba in 1990.

 

The few films produced during the 1990s come out of the diaspora, by Belgium-based Monique Mbeka Phoba, who has been mentor and inspiration to many. Phoba continues to produce in the 2000s and is also involved in co-productions and African cinema organisational functions. She has been mentor to two Belgium-based practitioners, the sisters Pauline Mulombe, filmmaker and Cecile Mulombe Mbombe, cinematographer as well as a host of young filmmakers working directly in the Congo. Other Belgium-based Congolese women in cinema, include Wendy Bashi, filmmaker and journalist, and host of the programme Reflets Sud on TV5 Monde. Similarly, journalist Djia Mambu, as film activist, is actively involved in the promotion of African cinema throughout the globe, and advocates for positive and realistic representations of people of African origin. U.K.-based filmmaker, actor, writer Shana de Carsignac Mongwanga works at the intersection of social change and art, and has a keen interest in using film to reflect her reality as an African-European, but also to use art as a common cause for Congolese women based in the UK and in Congo DRC. Franco-Congolese Claude Haffner, points her camera to the country of her birth, as she returns to the Congo as an adult on a voyage of rediscovery. Raised in France by a French father and Congolese mother, her bi-racial, bi-cultural identity is explored in her documentary film, Footprints of my Other, whose French title, Noire ici, blanche la-bàs highlights the duality of her identity: being black here--in France, and white there in Congo. Similarly, Métis, the 2016 documentary by Maëlle Cherpion, Charlotte Manguette and Mélissa Quinet--who is the granddaughter of Elodie, explores mixed-race identity, though in a very different context. The film traces the experiences of Quinet's grandmother and her best friend Gerty, when Congo was under Belgian rule. Like many other children from interracial unions they were at the same time not recognised by their father and also taken from their mothers by government authorities to be placed in orphanages run by nuns.

Machérie Ekwa Bahango, of the current generation of Congolese filmmakers, has navigated between Congo and U.K. Her first film, Maki'la, which is also a feature, received international attention for its selection at the Berlinale Forum in 2018. Kinshasa-born Mariam Donda gained experience in directing and scriptwriting during a workshop conducted at the International Film Festival of Kinshasa in 2015, and in 2018 directed the short documentary film Maïmouna, advocating for the education of the girl child.

 

Julie Djikey, a multifaceted visual artist, uses the screen culture platforms of social media and new technologies to disseminate her performance art. Born in Congo-Kinshasa, her artistic approach endeavors a systemic reparation of the stereotypes of contemporary Congolese art.

 

In 2014, The Association of Women Filmmakers of DR Congo organized the first edition of Cinef (cinema au féminin). Launched under the theme "Empowerment of Congolese women through its initiatives for development”, the theme was developed during a seminar in which stakeholders in the cultural arena were invited to take stock of the current state of culture in DR Congo.

 

In April 2021 a panel discussion among women of RDC and the diaspora was held under the title Regard des femmes cinéastes-RDC 'influence ta communauté: "Perspectives of women directors of the RDC: Influence your community". Organized by Yole!Africa,  a non-profit organization promoting peace through art and culture, the Zoom round table included an impressive list of panelists and participants:

Panelists:
Carine Ilunga, actress-philanthropist
Djia Mambu, journalist and film critic
Clarisse Muvuba, producer-director-screenwriter
Monique Mbeka Phoba, screenwriter-director-producer-film theorist
Bernadette Vivuya, director-moderator

Participants:
Nancy Bwinika, actress
Annie Mahamba, actress
Chery Muhima, actress
Madeleine Ndeze, actress
Alice Mely Ndoole, actress
Nicole Nikuze, actress-director-producer
Baudouine Rudahigwa, actress-director
Diane Uwamahoro, actress
Charby Wale, actress-producer
 
The African Women in Cinema Blog endeavors to present the myriad screen experiences of women of DRC. While not claiming by any means to be exhaustive, the Blog presents a small selection of voices that are indicative of the diverse and wide-ranging screen cultures of DRC.

 

Report by Beti Ellerson

Links to articles on the African Women in Cinema Blog:

Festival Films Femmes Afrique 2020 - Mariam Donda : Maïmouna
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/02/festival-films-femmes-afrique-2020.html

 

Amelia Umuhire : Congo-Rwanda webseries Tuko - Life in Goma (FR-EN-DE)
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/07/amelia-umuhire-congo-rwanda-webseries.html

 

CINEF #4 2018 - Cinéma au féminin (Kinshasa) : Abeti Masiniki by/de Laura Kutika and Ne Kunda Nlaba
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/07/cinef-4-2018-cinema-au-feminin-kinshasa.html

Mis Me Binga 2018 – Delphine Wil : Mémoire de missionnaires | Missionary Memories (Belgique | Belgium)
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/06/mis-me-binga-2018-delphine-wil-memoire.html

“Maki'la” by/de Machérie Ekwa Bahango, a/un film noir by/par Hassouna Mansouri (analysis/analyse)
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/04/makila-byde-macherie-ekwa-bahango-aun.html

Berlinale (Forum) 2018: Maki'la by/de Machérie Ekwa Bahango
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/02/berlinale-forum-2018-makila-byde.html

Djia Mambu : “Black”, pourquoi Mavela et pas Loubna ? | Contradictions in the representation of Mavela and Loubna in the film “Black”
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2016/08/djia-mambu-black-pourquoi-mavela-et-pas.html

Métis (Mixed-race), 2016 : by/de Maëlle Cherpion, Charlotte Manguette et Mélissa Quinet
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2016/03/metis-mixed-race-2016-byde-maelle.html

Djia Mambu : journalist and film critic, a committed writer at the service of Africulture | journaliste et critique de cinéma, une plume engagée au service d’Africulture
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/10/djia-mambu-journalist-and-film-critic.html

That Sister There! by Michèle Solle, a review of the film "Sister Oyo" by Monique Mbeka Phoba | Cette soeur-là ! par Michèle Solle, une critique du film “Soeur Oyo” de Monique Mbeka Phoba
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/04/that-sister-there-by-michele-solle.html

Festival Cinema au féminin (CINEF) 2014 - Kinshasa - Programme
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/06/festival-cinema-au-feminin-cinef-2014.html

Cinema au féminin (CINEF) : 10-14 June | juin 2014 - Kinshasa
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/06/cinema-au-feminin-cinef-10-14-june-juin.html

Monique Mbeka Phoba: "Sister Oyo", the importance of social media, and the Kisskissbankbank crowdfunding campaign
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/05/monique-mbeka-phoba-sister-oyo.html

Julie Djikey: Performance "Ozonisation"
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/04/julie-djikey-performance-ozonisation.html

FILM: République Démocratique du Congo : violations graves des droits humains | Democratic Republic of Congo: Serious human rights violations
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/10/film-republique-democratique-du-congo.html

Claude Haffner: "Black Here, White There" | "Footprints of My Other "
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/03/claude-haffner-black-here-white-there.html

Shana Mongwanga: For a Common Cause
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/08/shana-mongwanga-for-common-cause.html

The Sisters Act of Cecile and Pauline
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/07/sisters-act-of-cecile-and-pauline.html

A Conversation with Monique Mbeka Phoba by Beti Ellerson
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2009/12/conversation-with-monique-mbeka-phoba.html