Felicite

Showings

Rafael 2 Sat, Oct 7, 2017 2:15 PM
Rafael 3 Wed, Oct 11, 2017 2:00 PM
Film Info
Category:Mind the Gap
Section:World Cinema
Country:Senegal
Year:2017
Running Time:124 min.
Language:Lingala
Director:Alain Gomis
Producer:Arnaud Dommerc
Alain Gomis
Screenwriter:Alain Gomis
Olivier Loustau
Delphine Zingg
Cinematographer:Céline Bozon
Editor:Alain Gomis
Fabrice Rouaud
Cast:Vèro Tshanda Beya Mputu
Gaetan Claudia
Papi Mpaka
Print Source:Strand Releasing
Note Writer:David Fear

Description

In the back of a crowded, rowdy club in the back streets of Kinshasa, you’ll find Félicité (Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu) singing her heart out, providing a soulful-groove serenade to the dance-floor flirting and bar fights started by her handyman boyfriend Tabu (Papi Mpaka). Their routine is shattered, however, when her teenage son is seriously injured in a car accident. Félicité races around town trying to raise money for his operation; when she fails to get enough cash in time, the songbird begins to lose her voice—and her sanity. Franco-Sengalese filmmaker Alain Gomis (Tey, MVFF 2012) crafts an incredible story of maternal endurance, driven by a vibrant soundtrack featuring everything from the Kasai Allstars’ rump-shaking Afro-pop to the city’s real-life church choirs, and orchestras. And in singer-turned-actress Mputu, he’s found a first-rate performer capable of breaking your heart with a glance or lifting you heavenward with a single transcendent note.

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Additional Information

Alain Gomis is a Franco-Bissau Guinean-Senegalese director. He was born in 1972 in France, where he grew up. His first two short films, Tourbillons, followed by Petite lumière, received awards at several international festivals. In 2001, his first feature-length film, L’Afrance, won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Then came Andalucia in 2007, starring Samir Guesmi; then Tey, starring Saul Williams, which was selected for competition at Berlin and won the Golden Stallion at Fespaco in 2013. A partner at Granit Films along with Newton Aduaka (Nigerian director, Ezra) and Valérie Osouf (French director), Alain Gomis also works with producer Oumar Sall (Cinékap) on a training program for young filmmakers and technicians in Senegal (Up Court-métra-ges). Félicité is his fourth feature-length film.