Filmmakers in Congo fight the European gaze

The film examines the mechanisms underlying Western views of Congo in particular and African countries in general. Journalist Ley Uwera, photographer Mugabo Baritegera and filmmaker Bernadette Vivuya are among the pioneers of a new generation of Congolese who want to show their own reality as a response to the world’s one-sided, Western-dominated perception of their region. With their cameras, they present an image that is miles away from Western stereotypes of misery and violence. Are there ways to reconcile the different perspectives? And is a Western filmmaker capable of telling this story?

Congo: A journey to the heart of Africa - Full documentary

Alastair Leithead takes an epic journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the far reaches of the Congo river to explore how history has shaped the Congo of today and uncover the lesser told stories of this beautiful, if troubled country. In the largest rainforest outside of the Amazon he comes face to face with its gorillas and hunts with pygmies, he travels into the heart of the Ebola outbreak with United Nations peacekeepers, and explores the cobalt mines which will drive our electric cars of the future.