The first Congolese feature film, “Augure”, presented at the Cannes Film Festival, by director Baloji, will be screened in Kinshasa from Thursday 22 to Saturday 23 June. This film won the prestigious “New Voice 2023” award in the “Un certain regard” category, highlighting the beauty and complexity of the Democratic Republic of Congo, celebrating its people and their resilience.
The film recounts in a humorous mode a family drama on the return to Koffi’s native land with his white and pregnant companion against a backdrop of witchcraft and beliefs whose first victims are women. Augure is a choral film retracing the story of four characters considered witches and wizards. They find a way to help each other out of their assignment in a phantasmagoric Africa.
The artistic and production teams wish to take part in the reflection work initiated by the players in the sector and the national institutions with a view to structuring the cinema sector. Several meetings and professional meetings, we learn, will be held on the sidelines of the screenings.
Congolese director Baloji, who has shot several short films, is a protean artist – musician, photographer, filmmaker – born in Lubumbashi in the DRC and based in Belgium. He is considered a respected figure in the international artistic landscape.
After having shone on the Croisette, “Augure” is presented for the first time in Kinshasa this Thursday, June 22 in the evening, with a free screening also being organized on Friday June 23 and Saturday June 24, respectively at the French Institute of Kinshasa and the Atmosphere at the Pullman Hotel