Makala

Kabwita lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The place he lives is Kolwezi, in the southwest of the country. His wife and his daughters are with him. He has a dream. He wants to buy a plot and build a house on it. For that he makes charcoal. He gets the charcoal from a hardwood tree. He fells the tree and burns it, and out of the ashes comes makala. Then he loads the sacks onto his bicycle. He sets off for the market pushing the bicycle. What he wants is to sell the sacks and make money. The road is both long and dangerous. The camera does not leave his side. The documentary follows the whole journey. Kabwita Kasongo and Lydie Kasongo appear in Emmanuel Gras’s ninety seven minute French documentary of 2017.