BENDA BILILI!

Directed by Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye

Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2010 , 85 min.

Thursday Evening Documentary Film Series

Benda Bilili! follows an unlikely group of musicians in Kinshasa, capital of the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. The band, Staff Benda Bilili—in English, “look beyond appearances”—is a group of street musicians composed of four paraplegics and three able-bodied men. But Benda Bilili! is not a music film; it is the story of a dream that became reality. French film directors Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret met the group in 2004 as they played homemade instruments around Kinshasa and struggled to survive through music. The result is an inspiring film that follows the band’s journey from the streets to the 2009 release of their acclaimed album Très Très Fort and their unforgettable performance in front of an audience of 8,000 people at the World Music Festival in Oslo, Norway.

In Lingala and French with English subtitles.

Sponsored by Columbia River Peace Corps Association.