Tongo Saa (Rising up at night)
Kinshasa and its inhabitants are in darkness. They wait and struggle to get access to light. Between hope, disappointment and religious faith, Tongo Saa is a subtle and fragmented portrait of a population that, despite the challenges, is sublimated by the beauty of Kinshasa’s nights.
Special Jury Award International Feature Film Competition Visions du Réel 2024
Director Nelson Makengo
Screenplay Nelson Makengo
Image Nelson Makengo
Sound Design Franck Moka
Sound Recording Moimi Wezam
Sound Editing Laszlo Umbreit
Sound Mix Rémi Gerard
Editor Inneke Van Waeyenberghe
Color Miléna Trivier
Composer Bao Sissoko, Wouter Vandenabeele, Lode Verc
Producer Rosa Spaliviero, Dada Kahindo Siku
Production companies Twenty Nine Studio & Production, Mutotu Productions
Co-producers Film Five, Diam Production, Auguste Orts, Magellan Films & RTBF
Developed with the support of SCAM – Brouillon d’un rêve et La Culture avec la Copie privée, Dérives, Atelier soutenu par la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles et la Wallonie, EURODOC21, Olafur Eliasson, Little Sun
Sales agent Square Eyes
This project has participated in WIELS Residency Program 2018, IDFAcademy 2019, Berlinale Talents 2020, Atlas Workshops 2020, Durban FilmMart 2020, MiradasDoc 2021, DocuMart | Guangzhou International Film Festival 2021, CPH:FORUM of CPH:DOX 2021, VdR–Industry | Visions du Réel 2023, Doha Film Institute First Cut Lab 2023, Red Sea Souk 2023 | WIP Showcase
With the support of Fonds Image de la Francophonie, Fonds Jeune Création Francophone, IDFA Bertha Fund Europe supported by Creative Europe MEDIA program, Berlinale World Cinema Fund ACP, the contribution of the European Union and the organization of ACP States, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program with support from Open Society Foundations, Hot Docs – Blue Ice Docs Fund, Film and Audiovisual Center of Wallonia Brussels Federation, Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), The Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, Doha Film Institute, RTBF
The film is recipient of Dérives Award | Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, the Atlas Workshops Award for Postproduction | Marrakech International Film Festival, Postproduction awards at VdR–Industry | Visions du Réel, Postproduction grant from Doha Film Institute