Please note: This was screened in Nov 2017
French/Senegalese director Alain Gomis further cements his reputation as one of the most talented contemporary African filmmakers in this highly acclaimed film, winner of the Silver Bear at Berlinale.
Félicité sings in a bar in Kinshasa to earn a living. When she takes to the stage, she leaves the world and her worries behind. But in the Congolese capital, great wealth is juxtaposed with dire need. When her 14-year-old son has a motorcycle accident, she goes on a frantic search through the streets of Kinshasa, a world of music and dreams, to raise the money needed for his operation. She encounters hostility and hopelessness, until one of the bar’s regulars offers to help her - an offer that is hard to refuse. With the internationally renowned musical collective The Kasai Allstars starring as Félicité’s backing band, and the Kinshasa Symphonic Orchestra adding to the soundtrack, music is the beating heart of this vibrant film and provides a sensual backdrop to life in the complex city.
Félicité is an unflinching and evocative account of a mother’s will to save her son and to sing her song in a city plagued with hardship. A breathtaking depiction of hope, sensuality and song