Democratic Republic of the Congo / All works
Cinema
Mobutu, King of Zaire
Mobutu, roi du Zaïre
Thierry Michel · 1999
Synopsis
The film traces the trajectory of Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, a sergeant in the colonial army who became secretary of state under Lumumba, then master of the former Belgian Congo through the coup d'état of November 1965, with the support of the CIA, and who renamed the country Zaire. It shows a power founded on fear, repression and money, a man who became one of the richest in the world in a ruined country, and the heads of state who received him, from De Gaulle to Mao. It mixes archive footage with testimony from those close to him and former leaders.
Context
The film is the fruit of more than two years of research in Africa, Europe and the United States: more than nine hundred and fifty hours of footage viewed, including thirty hours of unseen archives discovered in Kinshasa, and more than fifty hours of interviews recorded in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris and Washington. Produced by Les Films de la Passerelle with Les Films d'Ici, Belgian public television and Canal+, it runs two hours and a quarter; the commentary is by Thierry Michel and Lye Mudaba Yoka. It was shown at the Amsterdam documentary festival in 1999.
Who it is for
A long documentary, in French and English; it takes time but can be followed without knowing anything about Zaire.
Prizes and reception
Its release in France was reviewed by around ten national press titles, from Le Monde and Libération to Cahiers du cinéma.