KATANGA BUSINESS

By Thierry Michel

Synopsis

After Mobutu, King of Zaire and Congo River, Thierry Michel pursues his exploration of Africa and leads us to Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this a modern-day El Dorado, new world economic relations are woven through billion-dollar transactions.
Among the new actors, tens of thousands of «diggers» search for ways to survive by illegally occupying the concessions of mining multinationals whereas legal workers fight for barely decent salaries and working conditions.
An extremely wealthy provincial governor, praised by the masses; a Belgian manager also known as «The King of Katanga», a Canadian CEO and a kind of white sorcerer attempting to save an obsolete, State-run industrial empire; a Chinese businessman who just signed the mining contract of the century with the Congolese government – these are the characters of Thierry Michel’s new film. And these are the people who draw up the new strategic alliances in Africa today.

Their destinies intertwine in a tragicomedy staged on economic and social wars. Their symbolic and prophetic dimension make Katanga Business an edifying tale full of dark humour and realism about globalisation, its hopes and its gloomy setbacks.

A coproduction Les Films de la Passerelle – Les Films d’Ici – RTBF – Centre du Cinéma et de l’audiovisuel de la Communauté française et des Télédistributeurs wallons – ARTE – Wallimage – Eurimages – DGCD – PIL – ING Taxshelter – EVS Taxshelter – RTBF – TSR – Sundance Institute –Commission européenne – VRT