FÉLICITÉ

'Like an African version of the Dardenne brothers.' – The Observer

When Félicité takes to the stage, she does so with a song in her voice and a sparkle in her eye. When she climbs back down to her everyday life, she faces the unmelodic struggle of being a single mother to a hospitalised teenager. With an operation to pay for, she's soon begging whoever she can for help, finding violence and cruelty – as well as a complicated connection with a local mechanic – in the process.

Giving his nuanced tale time to unfold, Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis fits a vivid dissection of Kinshasa's streets and an intimate portrait of his spirited protagonist into a film that tempers its bleakness with textured images and a lingering sense of hope. The writer/director also announces Congolese talent Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu as a screen star in the making, with the singer-turned-actress as rich and captivating as the music that provides so much solace to her character.

Winner of the Silver Bear – Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival.