CONGO RELIEF NIGHT
Saturday Feb 28
Metro Cinema (screenings at 7pm and 8:30pm)

When Patrice Lumumba, the "Malcolm X of the Congo," was brutally tortured and assassinated in January of 1961, the surge of hope his leadership had inspired died with the man himself. A mere six months after Lumumba earned the position of prime minister of his newly independent country, Congo was forced into years of neocolonialist rule. To this day, the people of Democratic Republic of Congo continue to struggle for true independence amidst the ravages of a regional war that has been in full force since 1998.

Raoul Peck’s film resurrects and illuminates the true life story of Lumumba and his work to not only liberate his country from Belgium’s stronghold, but also to unite Africa against its oppressors, all while American, Belgian and CIA involvement conspired and quickly effected his violent demise.

This Saturday, The Council of Canadians of African and Caribbean Heritage join forces with the programming wizards at Metro Cinema to bring you an evening of art and politics aimed at raising both funds and awareness for DRC.

The evening is divided into two parts. Part one begins with an introduction by event organizer Malcolm Azania, an entertaining orator, followed by the screening of two short films. The first, Thomas Sankara, directed by Balufu Bakupa Kanyinda, documents the life of the man who helped lead Burkina Faso into its struggle for self-determination. The second, Profit and Nothing But!, is directed by Peck, who here aims his questioning camera at capitalism, contrasting its blind acceptance with the devastating poverty in his homeland of Haiti.

The second half of the evening, the screening of the feature-length Lumumba, again begins with a brief introduction by Azania.

The screenings are considered separate events, but full-evening passes are available. Ticket sales will pay for the films only: through donations, organizers hope to help fund sustainable water purification resources for the people of DRC. "There’s an NGO called CAWST who developed a low-cost filter which purifies water and is low-tech, which is very critical, because if you go high-tech, people can’t repair them: they just don’t have the infrastructure," explains Azania. "I mean, hell, if you or I had a million dollar windmill on our property, we wouldn’t know how to fix it."

Canadians’ lack of awareness or apathy does not erase our culpability in DRC’s struggles, Azania points out. "We’re part of a Western coalition of nations that have spent at least 200 years systematically looting Congo. When Congo had its first democratic leader, he was a beacon of hope to millions and was very quickly overthrown by western backed agents."