Belgium, France, and the UK / 2004 / 69mins / Documentary / Lingala and French

The Congolese Sapeurs, members of the Société des Ambianceurs et Personnes Élégantes (La SAPE), have elevated fashion to the status of a religion. Papa Wemba, a well-known Congolese singer, is one of La SAPE’s most prominent figures. This film is a splendid evocation of Papa Wemba's music, and it presents an unusual insight into what it means to be an immigrant in contemporary Europe.

George Amponsah

George Amponsah is a critically-acclaimed director who has made numerous documentaries, including features such as The Fighting Spirit (2007), about boxers from Ghana in pursuit of the American dream, and The Importance of Being Elegant (2004), about a bizarre cult of fashion led by the flamboyant Congolese singer Papa Wemba. His work has been featured at numerous international film festivals. Amponsah became an obsessive maker of super 8 movies while at Art College in the early nineties. It was clear to him that he could explore questions about identity through filmmaking. This culminated in a post-graduate film that won him a scholarship to attend the documentary course at Britain's National Film and Television School. Since then, George has won prestigious awards for his film work from the Post Office, the BBC, Kodak and The Royal Television Society, and he has worked with some of Britain's most prolific television production companies. While making short films for the web and developing new feature films, George continued to work as a tutor with young people, using digital video as a tool with which to express views from outside the mainstream. Learn More

Cosima Spender

Director, producer, photographer and writer, Cosima Spender was born in Italy in an artists’ family, and moved to England at fourteen. A university degree in Anthropology and Art History at the School of Oriental and African Studies cultivated her interest in local identity and ethnic traditions, whether in Africa, Asia or Europe. Still photography and traveling sparked off a passion that led to the post-graduate documentary directing course at the National Film and Television School in England. Since leaving film school she has travelled around the world as a director, often filming her own projects. She has directed films including The Importance of Being Elegant (2004) with George Amponsah, Dolce Vita Africana (2008), Without Gorky (2011 director and writer) and Palio (2015 writer and director). Palio won the best documentary editing award at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. She is based in London. Learn More