Journey

Eli Maene / Democratic Republic of Congo / 2026 / World Premiere / 70 min.

synopsis

From a series of shots of people rummaging through a rubbish tip in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, we move to the studio of a local painter who runs out of paint just a few days before his exhibition. His attempts to raise money and subsequently launch a career as a Christian street preacher frame a docu-fiction portrait of a city where nothing is of much value – including art. This observational film offers us fascinating glimpses of everyday life in Kinshasa, while, through the story of its protagonist, it seeks to convey the hardships of existence in a city of markets, rubbish and slums, where artistic creation is certainly not regarded as a social priority.

biography

Eli Maene (1994) gained renown in 2021 with the short film Biso Pe Toza about the artistic community in his home town of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He captured everyday life in this war-torn region in his subsequent short documentary Lobi Ekosimba (2024). Both films were screened at international festivals.