Event 1: WED. March 29th, 6-10pm @ The Wooly: a screening of Djo Munga’s award-winning “sexy crime flick,” set in Kinshasa. Screening to be followed by a discussion with the prizewinning filmmaker, Djo Munga, widely recognized as a leading & innovative filmmaker since his fictional thriller “Viva Riva!” was released in 2010. The film is a fast-faced, 90-minute rush through the streets of DRCongo's megacity of 10 million. It uses the gangster genre to brilliant effect. Born in Kinshasa, trained at Belgium’s National Film School, Djo Munga worked on international TV productions in Kinshasa from 2000; founded Congo’s film production company, Suka! Productions, in 2006; and co-produced Congo in Four Acts in 2010. Viva Riva! met acclaim at the Toronto and Berlin International Film Festivals, and won six African Movie Academy Awards & the Best African Movie at the MTV Movie Awards. It uses noir film techniques to raise awareness of sexual, gender, and economic issues in this vibrant city -- without preaching. A gangster hero returns from neighboring Angola with a truckload of stolen oil. When he falls for the girlfriend of a Kinshasa gangster, chaos and violence erupts. The film speaks to machismo, corruption, sexual commodification, troubled kinship, and death. Cash bar.
