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The film explores the themes of dignity, disillusionment and intercultural dialogue through the journey of Mani Kongo, an old Congolese king who, after years without news of his daughter Mwanza, arrives in Belgium to find her. By holding his symbols of traditional power up against European modernity, he finds himself confronted with identities ‘in pieces’. Will a return to Africa pave the way for reconciliation? A drama with aspects of a detective comedy, offering an African perspective on Europe.
This film is presented as part of a Close-up devoted to Mweze Ngangura. After arriving in Belgium at the age of 20, he made two short films during his studies at the IAD broadcasting school: Tamtam-électronique (Electronic Tamtam) and Rhythm and blood. After making documentaries for Zairean television for ten years, in 1985 he co-directed La Vie est Belle (Life is Rosy) with Benoît Lamy, a film that was a big hit in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1998, he wrote Pièces d’identités (Identity Pieces), which won numerous awards. Bozar is devoting a Close-up to him.