Rising Up at Night (Tongo Saa)

Two children sit in a dimly lit space. One holds a small light source that illuminates their face, while the other holds a portable radio with a digital display. The background is dark blue, suggesting a nighttime or off-grid setting.

Darkness falls over Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and its 17 million inhabitants. It is just before Christmas and people are struggling to gain access to electric light. Kudi is mobilising the residents of his Kisenso neighbourhood to collect money for a new power cable. On Mount Mangengenge, a holy place overlooking the city, Pastor Gédéon delivers a sermon about the light of Christ as the path to life and truth. Davido is searching for a place to stay after his house was flooded by the Congo River. Together with other young men, he kills time by working out and dreams of a better future.

Rising Up at Night (Tongo Saa) is a sensitive portrait of the residents of Kinshasa as they face the challenges of life in an environment plagued by violence and colored by the uncertainty of tomorrow.

Free admission! Sponsored by the Institute for African Development in the Einaudi Center for International Studies.

Part of our "Campus Collaborations" series. In Lingala with English subtitles. Courtesy of Subobscura Films.