View documentaries about the DRC

The documentaries that you will see are the following:

Ladies In Waiting, directed by Dieudo Hamadi and Divita Wa Lusala.
In a run-down maternity hospital, a ward of women who have recently had their babies wait to be allowed to leave, but there is a problem - they cannot pay the hospital fees. A long-suffering manager must negotiate collateral with them so they will return and pay in full and the collateral is a celebration dress, a pair of earrings and a suitcase. The film exposes both the squalid hospital system and the endemic poverty of Congo without, thankfully, pointing fingers, leaving that instead to the viewer.

Symphony Kinshasa, directed by Kiripi Katembo Siku
Take a hard-hitting tour through Congo's capital city and discover the consequences of graft, neglect and poverty, as Siku's film reveals Kinshasa'a imploding infrastructure. Malaria is rife, fresh water is as rare as flood water is common, electricity cables lie bare and live in the street, garbage is everywhere and as a priest notes "living in the capital is like living in a village. The services are the same, non-existent." It's not pretty but it's revelatory.

Shrinking Press, directed by Patrick Ken Kalala
Through the story of a fallen agitator, filmmaker Kalala highlights the limitations of Congolese free speech. Grace, the daughter of anti-government firebrand Frank Ngyke, who is killed for raising his voice, powerfully narrates a film about her father's life and last days, before he was silenced for his high profile criticism of corruption in high office. But as a young journalist herself, she must navigate the perils of contemporary journalism in DRC.

After the Mine, directed by Kiripi Katembo Siku
Kipushi is a mining town, one of thousands keeping Congo's elite in extreme wealth. But for those who live in the shadow of its toxic fallout, it is a very different life, one where tainted water and contaminated soil are realities. Siku's film tells the very personal stories of those trapped in such a deadly environment.

For further queries please contact Nazeer Ahmed on +27 (0) 21 465 4686 or email .

Encounters DVD's will be on sale after the screening and a cash bar is available.