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Mangeurs de Cuivre

Synopsis: 

The Democratic Republic of Congo has a long history of civil wars and conflicts caused by minerals. Mangeurs de Cuivre shows the reality of multinational mineral extraction in the south east of the country.

There are still wars going on in the east of Congo nourished by global power structures interested to keep political instability to easier access minerals. In the south east of DRC there is a 300 km long copper belt. Here we find multinational operators that controls most of the extraction industry today.

Mangeurs du Cuivre portrays stakeholders in the copper mining industry representing different interests and positions. Damien Kahambwe is a community adviser for the Chinese mining company MMG, through his daily work we witness situations where corporate social responsibility is used to gain trust among the local population.

Chief Mpala is a traditional village leader. With no formal power we follow him in his struggle to represent the local traditions in meeting with modern regulations and urban development. The local entrepreneur and businessman Eric Monga has profited from the liberation of the mining sector in DRC, he is encouraging Congolese economists to get contracts so they can do business in their own country.

Mangeurs de Cuivre (Copper eaters) is the precolonial way of melting copper. Before colonization it was performed as rituals. This activity was banned when the Belgian started to extract copper industrially. This film portrays this ceremony conducted by a group of men wanting to keep this heritage alive. The ritual is accompanied by an ancient legend about the spirits that since early days have controlled the amount of copper in the ground. Performed by Congolese actors this story works as a historical reminder of the never ending interest conflict in DRC caused by minerals.

 

An experimental combination of voices and landscapes, merged with local history give us access to unique micro sorties hard to discover in sub Sahara Africa. Mangeurs de Cuivre explores the global economy in the meeting with local tradition and identity, rendered into a contemporary global perspective.

 

Runtime: 
01:81:26
English subtitle: 
Yes
Information for the Audience: 

Mangerus de Cuivre

a film by Bodil Furu

82 minutes. 2016.

 

The Democratic Republic of Congo has a long history of civil wars and conflicts caused by minerals. Mangeurs de Cuivre shows the reality of multinational mineral extraction in the south east of the country.

 

There are still wars going on in the east of Congo nourished by global power structures interested to keep political instability to easier access minerals. In the south east of DRC there is a 300 km long copper belt. Here we find multinational operators that controls most of the extraction industry today.

Mangeurs du Cuivre portrays stakeholders in the copper mining industry representing different interests and positions. Damien Kahambwe is a community adviser for the Chinese mining company MMG, through his daily work we witness situations where corporate social responsibility is used to gain trust among the local population.

Chief Mpala is a traditional village leader. With no formal power we follow him in his struggle to represent the local traditions in meeting with modern regulations and urban development. The local entrepreneur and businessman Eric Monga has profited from the liberation of the mining sector in DRC, he is encouraging Congolese economists to get contracts so they can do business in their own country.

Mangeurs de Cuivre (Copper eaters) is the precolonial way of melting copper. Before colonization it was performed as rituals. This activity was banned when the Belgian started to extract copper industrially. This film portrays this ceremony conducted by a group of men wanting to keep this heritage alive. The ritual is accompanied by an ancient legend about the spirits that since early days have controlled the amount of copper in the ground. Performed by Congolese actors this story works as a historical reminder of the never ending interest conflict in DRC caused by minerals.

 

An experimental combination of voices and landscapes, merged with local history give us access to unique micro sorties hard to discover in sub Sahara Africa. Mangeurs de Cuivre explores the global economy in the meeting with local tradition and identity, rendered into a contemporary global perspective.

Screenings / Awards: 

Teatrino Palazzo Grassi                                                                                   14 – 16.11.2016                                             

Galerie de l'UQAM                                                                                           24.02 - 08.04.2016                                        

Faena Art Miami                                                                                                13.04.17 - 30.04.2017                                  

Faena Art Center Buenos Aires                                                                   23.05 - 30.05.2017                                        

Schermo dell'arte                                                                                              16.11.17 - 19.11.2017                                  

Fondazione Giuliani, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Roma                        06.10.17 - 07.01.2018                 

 The art cinema Oslo, Norway, 20.04.2017

Cafeteateret, Oslo, Norway, 27.04.2017

FEC, Lubumbashi, DRC, 05.12.2016

The Norwegian Short Filmfestival 2017, Grimstad, Norway, 

Distribution budget: 
0
Directed by: 
Bodil Furu
Produced by: 
Bodil Furu - Furu Productions, Centre D'Art Waza de Lubumbashi, DRC , Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève
Music by: 
Spilulu
Cinematography by: 
Bodil Furu, Patrik Säfström
Film Editing by: 
Bodil Furu, Cathrine Aladenise, Xavier Sirven
Release Date: 
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Official website: 
www.bodilfuru.com
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Subtitles: