Monique Mbeka Phoba

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Monique Mbeka Phoba
Born (1962-07-14) 14 July 1962 (age 63)
Brussels, Belgium
Nationality Congolese and Belgian
Education Institut Saint-Luc
Université libre de Bruxelles
Ateliers Varan
Institut des Arts de Diffusion
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • screenwriter
  • journalist
  • cultural promoter
Known for Un Rêve d'Indépendance

Monique Mbeka Phoba (born 14 July 1962) is a Belgian-born Congolese filmmaker, screenwriter, journalist, and cultural promoter. [1] [2] [3] Regarded as one of Africa's leading documentary directors, [1] her work has been broadcast on African public television channels, including those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Benin, and Senegal, as well as on European networks such as TV5Monde, RTBF, ARTE, and ZDF. [4] Her award-winning films often address social, cultural, and political issues across Africa. [1] [5] [2] [6] She is the manager of the Brussels-based film production company Rumbacom. [4]

Contents

Born in Brussels to a Congolese diplomatic family, she began her media career in the 1980s as a radio presenter while studying business, later earning a degree in commercial and consular sciences from Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels in 1991. [2] [7] [4] She complemented her academic background with training in cultural journalism and worked with the Université libre de Bruxelles radio station as well as RTBF. [2] From 1995 to 2007, Phoba resided in Benin, where she worked for Bénin TV and played a pivotal role in promoting African cinema. [4] [7] In 2000, she founded Lagunimages, a company that later evolved into a film festival dedicated to the production, distribution, and exhibition of African cinema. [4] [1] Since returning to Belgium in 2007, she obtained a degree in screenwriting from Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD). [4]

Early life

Monique Mbeka Phoba was born on 14 July 1962 in Brussels to a Congolese father who worked in diplomacy for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She spent her early years between continents, regularly visiting the DRC during school holidays. [2] [8] Following her father's resignation from diplomatic service, she settled permanently in Belgium in 1978 at the age of sixteen. [8] Phoba developed an early interest in African cinema and, in 1985, reported on the release of the notable Congolese film La vie est belle . She completed a degree in commercial and consular sciences at Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels in 1991, with a thesis titled "Cooperation between the European and African audiovisual industries". [2] [7] [8] She subsequently undertook training in cultural journalism and became involved with Radio-Campus, the student radio of the Université libre de Bruxelles, where she focused on African culture. [2] She also worked with RTBF, the French-speaking public broadcaster of Belgium, and contributed articles to several publications in Brussels and Geneva, such as Tam-Tam, Negrissimo, and Regards. [2] She then enrolled in an introductory course in video documentary at the Ateliers Varan in Paris. [4]

Career

In 1991, Phoba premiered her debut 13-minute film, Corps à cœur. The film portrays a dance class set on Rue du Faubourg du Temple in Paris, where Jacques' drumming on the djembe sets the rhythm and participants engage in an immersive celebration of movement. [4] [9] Elisa leads the group with positive direction, guiding a series of African dance steps that leave the narrator physically drained and mentally invigorated. [9] That same year, Phoba created the 26-minute film Revue en vrac in collaboration with Fred Mongu, a journalist from Zaire's national broadcaster OZRT. [8] Though initially envisioned as a documentary on the Sovereign National Conference (Conférence nationale souveraine; CNS), the focus shifted to the development of an independent press in Zaire amid the country's severe political unrest. [2] Phoba believed the timing was significant and felt the film could serve as an important historical record. Working with limited resources, a simple camera and Hi-8 tape, and no budget, she filmed under challenging conditions marked by suspicion from state security forces. [2] The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at key newspapers like Le Potentiel , Elima, La Semaine , Grognon, Forum des As, and Umoja, capturing public and political reactions to Étienne Tshisekedi's appointment as Prime Minister. [2]

Two years later, she directed the documentary Rentrer? (1993, 52 minutes), which addresses the issue of brain drain and won the South/North prize from the European Council at the Festival International Médias Nord-Sud in Geneva in 1996. Phoba's 1996 short film Une voix dans le Silence depicts the struggles of Bruno Ediko, an HIV-positive man from Benin. Her fourth documentary, Deux petits tours et puis s'en vont… (Two little turns and then gone), co-directed with Emmanuel Kolawole, focuses on Benin as a testing ground for African democracy and won second prize in the TV/Video documentary category at FESPACO in March 1997. In 1998, Phoba made Un rêve d'indépendance , a film reflecting on 35 years of independence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which received the Images of Women award at Montreal's Vues d'Afrique Festival in April 2000. That same year, she established Lagunimages, the first film festival in Benin, a biennial event offering free film and documentary screenings in cinemas and outdoor venues. [8] [10] [11] [10]

Phoba premiered her documentary Anna, l'Enchantée in 2001. The film follows Anna Teko, a singer who receives a scholarship to study music in France, but due to inadequate preparation, she returns after just three months. The film was awarded the Images of Women prize at Vues d'Afrique Festival in April 2002. [10] In February 2003, she served as a short film jury member at the 18th edition of the FESPACO. [12] In 2004, she released Sorcière, la vie!, a 52-minute documentary examining the presence of witchcraft in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [13] [2] [14] The film critically explores the cultural values surrounding the phenomenon and serves as a personal investigation into Phoba's own heritage, shaped by her years living abroad. [2] [15] According to her, the topic of witchcraft resonates more strongly with the Congolese diaspora than with those who remained in the country. Filming began in 2001, and the documentary, set in Belgium and the DRC, recreates a nostalgic, village-like setting. [2] [15] In 2007 she completed a documentary on the Zaire national football team, Les Léopards (meaning "The Leopards"), which shone in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. This team was the first from sub-Saharan Africa team to participate in a FIFA World Cup. Entre la coupe et l'élection (Between the cup and the election) was co-directed with Guy Kabeya Muya. [16]

From 1995 to 2007, Phoba lived in Benin, where she has worked on production, distribution and promotion of African cinema. [8] Her first short fiction film, Soeur Oyo, a trilingual project in Lingala, Kikongo, and French, was released in 2014. It received three awards and was shown over 50 times at festivals and community events across Africa, Europe, and North America. [10] [13]

Filmography

YearFilmRoleRef.
1991Corps à cœurDirector [13]
1991Revue en vracDirector [13]
1993Rentrer? [13]
1996Une voix dans le silence [13]
1997Deux petits tours et puis s'en vont…Director [13]
1998 Un rêve d'indépendance Director, writer [13]
2001Anna, l'enchantéeDirector [13]
2004Sorcière, la vie!Director, actor, writer [17] [13]
2008 Entre la coupe et l'élection Director, writer [13]
2010Tout le monde a des raisons d'en vouloir à sa mèreActor [13]
2014Soeur Oyo [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kabeya, Eddy (5 August 2009). "Congo-Kinshasa: La cinéaste Monique Phoba - "Le Congo est scandaleusement riche mais loin d'une telle prise de conscience!"" [Congo-Kinshasa: Filmmaker Monique Phoba – "Congo is scandalously rich, but far from such awareness!"]. Le Phare (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Tshibuabua, Espérance (18 January 2005). "Congo-Kinshasa: Monique Mbeka Phoba: "Le tournage de mon film Sorcière, la vie! est un moment que j'attendais depuis sept ans" [Congo-Kinshasa: Monique Mbeka Phoba – "The filming of my movie Sorcière, la vie! is a moment I had been waiting for for seven years"]. Le Potentiel (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "La scénariste congolaise Monique Mbeka Phoba désignée présidente du jury de FIFF Cotonou" [Congolese screenwriter Monique Mbeka Phoba appointed president of the FIFF Cotonou jury]. Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Monique Phoba Mbeka: Corps à cœur". Ateliersvaran.com (in French). Paris, France: Ateliers Varan . Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Ndungidi, Patrick (30 December 2015). "Interview. Monique Mbeka Phoba: "Beaucoup de choses d'aujourd'hui s'expliquent par ce qui s'est passé à l'époque coloniale"" [Interview. Monique Mbeka Phoba: "Many things today can be explained by what happened during the colonial era"]. Adiac-congo.com (in French). Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo: Agence d'Information d'Afrique Centrale . Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  6. ↑ Kabeya, Eddy (10 November 2005). "Congo-Kinshasa: Deux africaines font baver les cinéphiles" [Congo-Kinshasa: Two African women make film lovers drool]. Le Phare (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "FESPACO Shorts 2015". Contemporary And. Berlin, Germany. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Phoba MBEKA Monique". Africine. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  9. 1 2 Ateliers Varan (1991). Monique Mbeka Phoba: Corps à cœur [Monique Mbeka Phoba: Body and Heart] (in French). Paris, France. Retrieved 16 October 2025– via Vimeo.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Monique Mbeka Phoba". Clap Noir. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  11. ↑ Gbovi, Amour (24 August 2004). "Bénin: Edition 2004 du festival international de Films: Lagunimages" [Benin: 2004 Edition of the International Film Festival: Lagunimages]. Fraternité (in French). Cotonou, Benin. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Afrique: XVIIIe FESPACO: liste des films en compétition" [Africa: 18th FESPACO: list of films in competition]. Sidwaya (in French). Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. 20 February 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "African Film Festival: Monique Mbeka Phoba". Africanfilmny.org. New York, New York, United States. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "Monique Mbeka Phoba – Sorcière, la vie!". Cahiers d'Études Africaines (in French). Paris, France. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  15. 1 2 Monduka, Dieumerci Monga (10 May 2006). "Congo-Kinshasa: Atelier de critique cinématographique: Sorcière, la vie!, film choc de Monique Phoba sur la quête identitaire" [Congo-Kinshasa: Film Criticism Workshop: Sorcière, la vie!, Monique Phoba's powerful film on the quest for identity]. Le Potentiel (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Portait [sic] de Monique Mbeka Phoba, femme engagée et cinéaste passionnée". Bana Mboka. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  17. ↑ Nyobia, Alliance (2 June 2006). "Cameroun: Monique Mbeka Phoba: "Les Ecrans noirs sont une". Cameroon Tribune (in French). Yaoundé, Cameroon. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
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