Republic of the Congo / All works
Cinema
The Ransom of an Alliance
La Rançon d'une alliance
Sébastien Kamba · 1974
Synopsis
In the Congo before colonisation, two peoples, the Tsembo and the Tsoundi, seal peace after years of struggle by marrying the son and daughter of their chiefs. Years later, the wife, Hakoula, gives herself to a handsome slave, Bizenga, who is killed on the spot; the infidelity rekindles a fratricidal war between the two peoples.
Context
The film adapts the second novel of Jean Malonga, published in 1954. Its director, known until then for short films and documentaries, shot it in Kituba and Lingala, and for the first time in African cinema dealt with a taboo subject, slavery between Africans before colonisation. Completed in 1973 according to some databases, it was released in 1974 and runs about one hour thirty-five minutes. It was presented in November 1978 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, then shown again at the Rotterdam festival in 2010.
Who it is for
A film of a little over an hour and a half, spoken in two languages of the country, rarely shown outside festivals and film archives.
Prizes and reception
The first feature film produced in Congo after independence; Nwachukwu Frank Ukadike sees in it a bold examination of traditional customs, without any invention of form.
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