Kadima NGULUNGU
Film director

Kadima received a creative grant in partnership with the Atelier des Artistes en Exil.

What is your artistic background ?
I started my artistic career in 2008. At the time I was an actor in amateur shows in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Little by little I discovered the world of audiovisuals and then cinema. My passion for filming came when I made my first pictures with a Sony hi8 camcorder. I filmed a friendly football match between the young people of my neighborhood. After my state diploma (Baccalauréat), I decided, against my father's advice, to study arts at the I.N.A (National Institute of Arts) in Kinshasa for two years. I then tried my luck and managed to get a scholarship and joined the Action Kinshasa workshops. That's when I learned how to direct and edit a film. After this training, at the end of 2013, I specialized in directing. In 2015, I directed my first short fiction film, Mosinzo, which I co-wrote with a friend. That film went to several festivals and won the prize for best short film in Benin. Thanks to that, I managed to get three advertising contracts in the same year. In 2017, I directed my second short film, A Balola, a documentary. Then +243 FIMBU, an experimental film shot with a mobile phone. In 2018, I managed to get a scholarship to attend the Fémis school summer university where I directed a third short documentary film, Le Peuple Gagne Toujours. I am currently working on my first professional feature film.

How do you view your profession today ?
Today, with digital technology, everyone has the possibility of making a film with the means at hand, even for someone who is just starting out in the field. If you go to community websites for sharing and viewing videos, the number of films posted there per month is enormous. This environment is very advantageous for young directors who don't have producers or who have not been able to get funding for their film projects. As for the circulation of these films, I see that today there are more and more community festivals that have their focus towards the public, in neighborhoods, for example, to show films and promote cinema.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years ? In 10 years ?
5 years ago, I set myself certain goals to achieve within ten years in my career as a filmmaker. Evaluating myself, I think my assessment is positive. But my dream remains to create a film school in Kinshasa, to share my experience with future Congolese filmmakers but also with those from other places. In this way, to enable projects which would stand out for their artistic and innovative quality to see the light of day. One of my rewards, in 10 years' time, would be to access the podium at FESPACO (Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou), the Cannes Festival, the Berlinale, the Rotterdam International Film Festival...

Interview conducted in 2021
Photography credit: Julia Grandperret