Benda Bilili!
From the streets of Kinshasa to world fame: the music doc BENDA BILILI! premiered in Cannes and charts the rise of street musicians Staff Benda Bilili to the top band in Congo. “Electrifying...a miracle!“ (Libération) “The KINSHASA SOCIAL CLUB!” (The Times) Five years ago directors Renaud Barret and Florent de La Tullaye met the musicians of Staff Benda Bilili in the streets of Kinshasa. The band members, some of whom walk on crutches due to polio, play a rousing mixture of soukous (Congolese rhumba), soul, reggae, funk and blues. The group's musical breakthrough was accelerated by the attention generated through this moving portrait, which won Best Music Documentary at Hamburg's Unerhört festival “shows the power of believing in yourself which helps to overcome the worst obstacles.”
Keywords
- africa
- Cannes: Quinzaine des Cinéastes
- disability
- Festival de Cannes
- Festival de Cannes - Tax Shelter
- music
- New in your subscription
- Vive la Fête
- World Cinema
Actors
- Leon Likabu
- Roger Landu
- Coco Ngambali
- Cubain Kabeya
- Paulin Kiara-Maigi
Director
- Renaud Barret
- Florent de La Tullaye
Documentary, Music, Dance, Theater
1h 22min
FRENCH
From the streets of Kinshasa to world fame: the music doc BENDA BILILI! premiered in Cannes and charts the rise of street musicians Staff Benda Bilili to the top band in Congo.
From the streets of Kinshasa to world fame: the music doc BENDA BILILI! premiered in Cannes and charts the rise of street musicians Staff Benda Bilili to the top band in Congo.
“Electrifying...a miracle!“ (Libération) “The KINSHASA SOCIAL CLUB!” (The Times) Five years ago directors Renaud Barret and Florent de La Tullaye met the musicians of Staff Benda Bilili in the streets of Kinshasa. The band members, some of whom walk on crutches due to polio, play a rousing mixture of soukous (Congolese rhumba), soul, reggae, funk and blues. The group's musical breakthrough was accelerated by the attention generated through this moving portrait, which won Best Music Documentary at Hamburg's Unerhört festival “shows the power of believing in yourself which helps to overcome the worst obstacles.”
Festivals
Cast & Crew
Director
Renaud Barret
Director
Florent de La Tullaye
Cast
Leon Likabu
Cast
Roger Landu
Cast
Coco Ngambali
Cast
Cubain Kabeya
Cast
Paulin Kiara-Maigi