Inhalte(1)
The Congolese Isaac Mbuyi lives in a region where most people earn a living working in the mines. Isaac wants to study and earns the necessary money by digging for cobalt. In the voice-over, Mbuyi tells us about his country's colonial past, the cobalt market and the current rules of the game. It quickly becomes clear that the Belgian filmmakers are the first whites that Isaac and his colleagues have ever seen or spoken to. For a while, their presence throws the mine and the adjacent village into a state of commotion. Discussions erupt on the subjects of colonisation, globalisation and corruption, and many of the miners don't trust the foreigners. In the words of one man, "We're going to bed hungry tonight. What about you, white man?" But then suddenly, everybody's concerned about a completely different matter: the miners are required to sell their cobalt to a Congolese man who cheats them and pays much too late. So-called unions and government institutions overstep the mark and cause the very poorest among them to suffer. Isaac and the miners decide to smuggle their cobalt to buyers who are willing to pay a reasonable price. Van Paesschen and his cameraman become part of the film by literally getting involved in discussions and actively participating in the cobalt-smuggling plan. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
(mehr)