This recurring program highlights productions by filmmakers of African descent, which exist outside traditional distribution channels.
In Makongo, the Central African director Elvis Sabin Ngaibino tells the story of Albert and André, two young Aka Pygmies from Mongoumba. Ridiculed at school, they respond by working to combat illiteracy in their community. To tackle the problem of exclusion, they try to set up a mobile school, funding their efforts by selling makongo - an edible caterpillar much prized by Central Africans - on the market rather than asking the authorities or NGOs for help. As they plunge into the bush and the forest in search of the caterpillars, Albert and André talk about their culinary traditions and commerce in Bangui.
Elvis Sabin Ngaïbino
Elvis Sabin Ngaïbino is a documentary filmmaker from the Central African Republic (CAR). He directed some of the first feature-length documentary films of the Central African Republic, which have been shown and received awards at prestigious international film festivals. In 2019, he co-created the CAR’s first film production company. His documentary Makongo, about the Aka indigenous peoples in CAR, was awarded at the 2020 Cinéma du réel festival. His most recent film, Le fardeau, a documentary about a couple living with HIV/AIDS in CAR, premiered at the 2023 IDFA. His next project will focus on "the anti-French sentiment in French-speaking Africa, and the anti-Western sentiment in contrast with Russian influence in Africa."
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