Katanga Business

After Mobutu, King of Zaire and Congo River, the Belgian director Thierry Michel pursues his exploration of Central Africa.

His new documentary, entitled Katanga Business, is a kind of political economic thriller, which takes place in this south-eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s richest regions in mining resources.

While the inhabitants of Katanga continue to live in extreme poverty, multinationals are rivaled by China, newly arrived with its billions of dollars. Staged on economic war, Katanga Business is a tale of globalisation.

Plot
In the years of the early 21st century, a devastating crisis continued to plague Katanga, the southeastern-most province of the Congo in Central Africa. The country sustained a global reputation as one of the most fundamental sources of several key minerals, notably copper, uranium and cobalt - minerals that could be shipped to developing countries such as China and India in exchange for economic sustenance. Yet tragically, very little of that wealth extended to the country’s people, who battled the direst poverty despite the richness of the natural resources surrounding them. With his documentary Katanga Business, filmmaker Thierry Michel explores this sad case of socioeconomic injustice

Release Date: 2009
Duration: 120min

Cast: Thierry Michel, Moise Katumbi Chapwe, Rene Nollevaux, George Forrest, Paul Fortin

Category: Culture & Society Social Problem Film

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