Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe, Geste des dieux, 2021

Jamii Ya Sinéma.club invites Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe for a session in the form of an encounter punctuated by a series of screenings and discussions. The artist will present a work in progress, developed with philosopher and curator Kabila Kyowa Stéphane, initially presented as part of Quilombo, a tricontinental research and exhibition project between the DRC, Brazil, and Switzerland. Gestures of the Gods offers a critical perspective on green colonialism by focusing on life stories and community practices, which become a plea for local resistance and urgent environmental issues.

The discussion will be preceded by a screening of the film 20 Years Old (Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe, 2020, 9 min).

Joseph K. Kasau Wa Mambwe is a visual artist, filmmaker, and author based in Lubumbashi (DRC), currently in residence at La Becque (La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland). His artistic practice lies at the intersection of cinema, video, and writing. In his work, he addresses the complexity of memory and identity in the postcolonial urban context. His productions are attentive to social interactions, highlight power relations, and propose alternatives in favor of change and unity. He is a member of Group 50:50, a collective of Congolese, German, and Swiss artists who are developing a form of post-documentary musical theater. In 2020, he co-founded the Nidjekonnexion collective in Lubumbashi.

Jamii Ya Sinéma.club is a platform for collective exchange and research on film cultures and the moving image arts. It aims to contribute to debates on the past, present, and future developments of these practices from a tropical perspective. By making the film club and film society an object of speculation and artistic experimentation, this project proposes to reinvent this form and put its potential into practice: as an assembly; as a joyful situation of study; as a celebration.