Rising up at night

The film focuses on the contradiction between the unfulfilled promise to build Africa's largest hydroelectric dam on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the fact that the capital city has no electricity and no solutions to major floods. In an observational, minimalist style with poetic-expressionist touches, director Nelson Makengo minutely delves into the dynamics and reactions of several communities to these infrastructural problems, closely linked to corruption, insecurity, and violence. Filmed almost exclusively at night, in chiaroscuro, some take part in collective meetings, while others place their hope for the better in religion, and the socio-economic situation of the present even seeps into the lyrics of folk songs.