Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, Qatar, Germany / 2024 / 95mins / Documentary / Lingala

As the Congo constructs Africa’s largest power staton, Kinshasa and its inhabitants are trapped in literal darkness, waiting and struggling to get access to electric light while also dealing with extensive fooding and preparing to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. Nelson Makengo' s first feature documentary, which premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival Panorama, is a vivid portrait of Kinshasa’s residents—their hopes, disappointments, religious faith, and resilience. Makengo’s subtle, fragmented
storytelling captures a population reinventing itself while immersed in the beauty of Kinshasa’s nights.

Nelson Makengo

Nelson Makengo is a filmmaker whose work oscillates between contemporary art and film. His film Nuit debout (Up at night) (Best Short IDFA 2019) has screened at over 100 festivals worldwide and has been nominated by the BFI as one of the 50 best films of 2020. E’ville (2018) won the Sharjah Art Foundation Award at the Videobrasil Biennale in 2019. In recent years, Nelson Makengo has collaborated as a director with Aljazeera and Meta, has been a jury member of several festivals and is a Sundance Documentary Film Institute and Doha Film Institute Fellow. Tongo Saa (Rising up at night) is his first feature documentary. Learn More