Alliance Française d'Atlanta Learn French . Live French

Film Screening and Discussion: "Pièces d'identité" 

Winner of the most prestigious award in African cinema the Etalon de Yennenga at FESPACO 99.

Film by Mweze Ngangura.

“Mani Kongo, the venerable king of the Bakongo, sets out alone on a quest for his long-lost daughter, Mwana, whom he sent to Belgium to study medicine many years before. As soon as he leaves his village and enters the Westernized world he finds his identity challenged. At the travel agency in Kinshasa, young urban trend-setters mistake the king's royal fetishes as the latest fashion statement while customs officials try to confiscate them as imported art objects. Eventually, robbed, homeless and penniless, Mani Kongo is tricked into pawning his royal regalia, literally his "pieces of identity," to an unscrupulous art dealer. (Ironically the authentic headdress used in the film had to be borrowed from a Belgian antique shop.)”
Ngangura's simple fable raises some of the most troubling issues of identity facing people of African descent in the ever-widening Diaspora of the late 20th century.

Discussion led by Carol Thompson, Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art at The High Museum of Art

Watch Trailer | Comedy-drama

Language: French with English subtitles

When: Wednesday April 10, 2013 | 07:00 pm | 93 minutes.

Where: Alliance Française d'Atlanta - Midtown | Colony Square | Plaza Level | Suite 561 | 1197 Peachtree Street NE. Atlanta, Ga 30361

Fee: $10  | Free for students

"A multi-cultural romp which has already proved an audience favorite...Rich in multi-level meaning; flawlessly navigating provocative points about racism, tradition, class struggle, cultural identity and corruption without sacrificing entertainment value."     
Variety
"A dash of gentle Congolese / Belgian charisma, part comedy, drama, thriller and romance."
Los Angeles Times

Presented in partnership with the High Museum’s Friends of African Art to celebrate Symmetry/Asymmetry: African Textiles, Dress, and Adornment(March 23 to August 25, 2013), an exhibition funded by the Fred and Rita Richman Special Initiative Endowment.

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  This program is supported in part by the City Office of Cultural Affairs.