Stop Filming Us But Listen explores the history of colonial representations in the Congo and follows the journey of Congolese filmmaker and journalist Bernadette Vivuya and her fellow local artists as they strive to challenge Western narratives around the city.
In Goma (DRC), Vivuya seeks funding for her decolonial film. At the same time, a Dutch director wants to make a film about the conflicting perspectives of Goma but is quickly confronted with the local community's refusal to be filmed. This sparks a conversation around power and trust, colonialism and representation.
A re-edited version of Joris Postema's
Stop Filming Us, Vivuya and Twahirwa's film takes a closer look at the imbalance of power inherited from colonialism and its consequences on the representation of the DRC, cinematic and otherwise. The idea to produce this new version arose from discussions within Postema's film about whether a Western director is capable of capturing an image and narrative of the DRC shared by its citizens.
It was then suggested that local directors work with the same footage to determine if a different story could be told from the same material to convey a local perspective. Re-editing the footage, they have made a version that better reflects their perspective and does justice to their own experiences. The resulting film contextualizes the project within the history of Western cinematic representations of the Congo, and highlights the inherent power discrepancies on either side of the camera. Featuring candid conversations with filmmakers, artists, scholars, and community members, Stop Filming Us But Listen seeks to subvert colonialist narratives familiar in the West and chart a new path for cinematic self-representation.
A man stands with his back to the camera, facing an open market
Shopping CartItems0
