Congo-set film scoops Cannes sidebar awards

Congo-set film 'Makala' by French director Emmanuel Gras scoops a top award at Critics' Week in Cannes.

The Cannes sidebar award went to the non-fiction film on Thursday with Gras’ second documentary film winning the Nespresso Grand Prize at Critics’ Week.

The doc narrates the story of a young man (Kabwita Kasongo) who works on production of charcoal to give his family a better future.

The jury members of 2017 Critics’ Week included Diana Bustamante Escobar, Hania Mroué, Niels Schneider, and Eric Kohn and were headed by Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho.

Makala, which is Swahili for “coal,” was shot in the DR Congo and is reportedly the first documentary in the running at the Critics’ Week in Cannes.

The 70th edition of Cannes Film Festival is currently underway in the French city of Cannes.

AG/AG