Painting by JP Mika

Congo in Harlem 2
A Series of Films and Special Events
Maysles Cinema
Friday, October 8 – Saturday, October 23, 2010

NEW YORK CITY, NY – Congo in Harlem 2 is the second annual series of Congo-related films and events at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem. This year’s program runs from Friday, October 8 – Saturday, October 23, 2010 and showcases a wide range of films by Congolese and international directors, representing the most important issues facing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today. Most screenings will be followed by panel discussions, special events, musical performances, and receptions. Congo in Harlem 2 will provide audiences with more than the traditional movie-going experience – it will offer opportunities to celebrate Congolese culture, learn about the ongoing humanitarian crisis, engage in dialogue, and get involved.  Maysles Cinema is located at 343 Lenox Ave./Malcolm X Blvd. (at 127th Street), New York, NY 10027.  Screenings are open to the public at a suggested donation of $10.  Box office opens one hour prior to show time.  For more information please call 212-582-6050.  To learn more, purchase advance tickets, and see the latest updates and schedule additions please visit http://www.mayslesinstitute.org/cinema/congo_in_harlem2.html.

Special exhibit in cinema lobby featuring photographs from North Kivu, DRC by Robert Garner and Mary McFarland.

The film and speaker series kicks off on October 8th and 9th with two films by Belgian-based Congolese filmmaker Monique Mbeka Phoba — A Bewitched Life and Between the Cup and the Elections. On October 17th, the series takes part in “Break the Silence” Congo Week with a special screening by Cultures of Resistance and a tribute to legendary soukous singer Kanda Bongo Man, who will be attendance.

The final weekend of programming sees the New York Premiere of a very timely film!

On Friday, October 22 at 7:30 PM (Co-Presented by The New York African Film Festival, Hirondelle, USA, and Radio Okapi), Afrique En Morceaux / The Tragedy of the Great Lakes by Jihan El-Tahri (2001, 100min.) will premiere. The film served as an important reference in the recently released UN mapping report.  This is the first public screening of the film in the U.S.  Post-screening discussion with filmmaker El-Tahri, Jason Stearns, Congo analyst, former UN investigator, Researcher at the International Crisis Group, and Luc Côté, lead investigator/writer of UN Mapping Report, with moderation by Congo researcher Samar Al-Bulushi, followed by reception.

On the final day of Congo In Harlem 2 – Saturday, October 23rd – there will be a panel discussion focused on child soldiers and youth leadership, featuring Ishmael Beah (author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier), Jimmie Briggs (author of Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War), and Friends of the Congo‘s Kambale Musavuli. The closing night film will be Thierry Michel’s exposé of mining operations in Congo, Katanga Business, followed by a panel with Peter Rosenblum, Attorney/activist, Professor of Human Rights Law at Columbia University, and Howard French, Senior Correspondent with The New York Times, and Associate Professor at Columbia University School of Journalism.

Congo in Harlem 2 is supported by V-DAY, the Caipirinha Foundation, and other organizations. Tickets will be sold on the basis of suggested donation and the proceeds from each event will be contributed to NGOs and organizations working in Congo. Series partners include: Friends of the Congo, Now AfriCAN, Tabilulu Productions, V-Day, Cultures of Resistance, The New York African Film Festival, Arts Engine, HEAL Africa, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, Icarus Films, Congo Global Action, Museum for African Art, and Yole!Africa.

About Maysles Cinema
Founded by renowned documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimmer Shelter), the Maysles Institute exhibits independently curated films to inspire dialogue and action, and advances community produced films through education programs. Our cinema and education programs engage multi-generational communities in creative self-expression, communicating ideas and advocating needs. We are committed to working with and representing residents of our Harlem neighborhood, documentary filmmakers and activists, community members and community-based organizations engaged in social, political and cultural change. Our goal is to bring these diverse audiences together, creating cross-cultural dialogue, relationships and empowerment through documentary film and filmmaking.

About the Organizers
Congo in Harlem is organized by a small staff of volunteers with strong interest and close ties to the Congo. The films are programmed by Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Louis Abelman, and Baze Mpinja, working in conjunction with Friends of the Congo. True, Walker, and Abelman were part of the filmmaking team that made Lumo, an award-winning documentary film about a young Congolese woman’s path to healing from a traumatic fistula at the HEAL Africa hospital in eastern Congo. Mpinja is a second generation Congolese living in New York City, currently working as a magazine editor. Her family is originally from Goma, in eastern DRC. Friends of the Congo is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising consciousness within the world community about the challenge of the Congo. A key aspect of Friends of the Congo’s mission is to support Congolese institutions to bring about a peaceful and lasting change.

#      #     #

For more information, images, and interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.