Kinshasa Symphony - Invitational Film
Directed by: Claus Wischmann & Martin Baer
Documentary | 2010 | 95m

www.kinshasa-symphony.com
About the Film: Two hundred orchestral musicians are playing Orff’s “Carmina Burana” in total darkness. A power cut has hit the Ngiri Ngiri district of Kinshasa, only a few bars before the last section of the work. Kinshasa’s power stations and main networks are insufficient to supply electricity to all the 8 million inhabitants of what is Africa’s third-largest city. Once again the lights have gone out in the “Salle des fêtes”, a kind of open garage where the orchestra practises. But for its members this is no reason to stop rehearsing. Most of them know their parts by heart. Small lapses of memory are compensated for by a talent for improvisation and the grace of God.

Screening Times @ Victory Fire House
7:05PM Thursday, June 16
9:00PM Friday, June 17

About the Directors:
Claus Wischmann is an author, director, and executive director at sounding images. After studying the piano, he wrote and directed over 40 documentaries and television features; he has also recorded concerts and made documentary portraits. His films have been shown at prestigious international festivals and have won awards such as the American Golden Eagle Award.
Martin Baer is a cinematographer, author, and director. He has made television features and documentaries and has also filmed many opera productions, concerts, and stage plays. As an author, director, and cinematographer, his documentaries mainly focus on historical topics and on Africa. Additionally, Martin Baer is the author of several texts about Africa’s history.