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ORE AND LORE

By Thierry Michel

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Synopsis

A small village 2 hours from the track in the province of Katanga in   Democratic Republic of Congo.

The induction of a new customary chief begins at night, in the forest, with traditional rites. This rare ceremony is an opportunity for  the village to assert its collective identity and its cosmology. Many traditional leaders came from everywhere.

In the early morning, the party continues after a night of waking up, drinking and dancing. Personalities sometimes coming from very far away made the trip, and the police forces were dispatched by the government. Among them the representative  of the President of the Republic, the Minister of Mines of Katanga and the big boss of a mining multinational who came specially from South Africa and who covets the mineral wealth of the region, copper and cobalt

The royal bracelet is passed down from generation to generation, and means that the ancestors recognize the choice of this new chosen one. For the new leader, this rite is a concession to animism, which is contrary to his religion because he is an evangelist pastor.

Official statements concern the arrival of multinational mining companies, potential sources of income but also of nuisance.

A few months later, in Kinshasa, the capital, during a mining conference, where  mining companies, political authorities, NGOs. We take stock there. Among the participants, the traditional chief, who has still not seen any improvement in living conditions in the village

A production Les Films de la Passerelle

Technical sheet
Year: 2009
Duration: 23'
Language: French 
Direction: Thierry Michel

Cinematography: Thierry Michel & Michel Téchy
Sound: Jean-Luc Fichefet
Editing: Marie Quinton & Idriss Gabel
Producer: 
Christine Pireaux - Les Films de la Passerelle
 
Stills
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