“Alain Gomis’ character study of a struggling single mother in Kinshasa evolves into something far more sensually complex than it initially seems.” —Variety
Félicité is an engrossing portrait of a proud, free-willed singer with a reputation for being too tough for her own good. Alain Gomis, a French director of Bissau-Guinean and Senegalese descent, sets this film in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Félicité (Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu) is on a mission to save her son, singing to raise money for his medical care in an electric, hypnotic world of music and dreams. With music from the Kasai Allstars and Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste, Kinshasa’s symphony orchestra. In French with English subtitles. 2017, France/Senegal/Belgium/Germany/Lebanon, DCP, 123 minutes.
Area Premiere
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival and Senegal’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2018 Academy Awards.
The Friday screening features Congolese musician Siama Matuzungidi performing onstage from 6:30–7 pm.